


Always My Sly Bunny, Always My Dumb Fox

by WildeHopps



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-06
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2018-07-12 15:12:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 42
Words: 303,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7110835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WildeHopps/pseuds/WildeHopps
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Judy and Nick are nigh inseparable, and have become standard bearers for peace between predator and prey in Zootopia. Though with a high profile in the ZPD, they have become high profile targets themselves. If the evil that looms in the dark recesses of the city manages to tear their relationship apart, will the rest of Zootopia crumble with it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Story Begins...

"Grandpa! Grandpa!"

"Tell us a story Grandpa!

The pitter patter of dozens of softly padded feet swarmed into his ears and into an enormous room filled with all sorts of furniture, both old and new. The tiny mammals flooded quickly around one of those pieces, an old red recliner, worn with age. They stared up at the figure of an elderly fox, whose grey fur betrayed his advanced years.

"Are you awake Grandpa? Your eyes make you look like you are sleeping..."

"Do you think he's dead? He looks dead...should we poke him?"

The aging fox wanted to chuckle, but held it in, wanting to have a little fun with the gaggle of young kits at his feet. Nearly every day this same routine would occur. And nearly every day he would leave them waiting until their patience could take no more. He imagined all their eyes staring up at him, practically imploring him to show he was awake. All the little bunnies, their long ears lowered across their backs, noses twitching anxiously. The fox pups, ears pointed forward, awaiting their grandpa to wake from his slumber.

I think I'll give them another minute or two...he thought drowsily. Jostling in his recliner, he pulled at his blanket as he rolled over onto his side, letting loose a short snore. Even with his back now turned to all the young kits at the foot of his chair, he could feel their expectant eyes still focused on him. Whenever they came in to have him tell one of his stories, this was always the most fun part of the whole affair. The vulpine could only imagine what his grandkits were doing now.

"I think he's dead...we should tell Mom to go bury him...Ow! What did I do Olivia!"

"He isn't dead, Alvin, he's just pretending to be sleeping again. He only moves when he is awake, duh." Olivia replied. "Besides, Grandpa is too old to be dead. You can tell by how much silver he has in his fur."

The elderly fox mentally laughed. His two oldest grand-kits were at it again. Olivia and Alvin, and most rambunctious youngsters he had ever seen in his whole life. Olivia was a creme colored bunny, a slight brown patch covering her nose and mouth while Alvin was a young fox pup, nearly identical in his markings to his grandfather. He absolutely adored them, but of course, being seven, they could sometimes be quite the obstacle to his mid-day napping sessions. In that regard, they were amazingly similar to his kids when they were this age. Though honestly, considering how many foxes and bunny's now lived in the expansive residence, he was surprised he got any time to nap at all. The other issue was now remembering all their names. He was sure it wasn't that he was getting older, just that there were so many of them now! At least with how old he was getting, it sure made a great excuse when he did forget their names.

He began to smile, but quickly shifted it into a loud snore to hide the movement. He couldn't risk giving himself away so soon, that would ruin the fun of the prank.

"Oh..." replied Alvin. "So he's like a zombie fox then?"

Now that is an interesting thought...the old fox mused.

"I guess," Olivia replied. He heard a soft thumping on the carpet. It was a telltale sign that Olivia was about to cause some mischief when she started tapping her paw. He could practically see the slight smile on her face as she would slowly half close her eyelids, her hip jutting out just ever so slightly as she would introduce whatever scheming plot she had devised.

"That just means you're safe around him, since zombie foxes only eat brains and you don't have any."

"Hey! I have brains!" came the shouted reply. "Mom tells me that all the time! Mom! Olivia is being mean again!"

"Olivia, Alvin, keep it down in there and leave your grandfather alone," a female voice echoed from the kitchen. "He needs his beauty sleep!"

"But mom..." Olivia sputtered. "He's been asleep for the whole day!"

"Just imagine what he'd look like if he didn't have the whole day!" came the jovial reply.

The old fox snorted, it was time for the big reveal after a comment like that. "Then I would be a zombie-fox eating all your brains." He rolled over with surprising agility to face his grand-kits, nabbing both Olivia and Alvin by their overalls as were looking towards their mother in the kitchen. Squeals of delight and fear filled the room as the many young rabbits and foxes began scampering everywhere, while Olivia and Alvin tried frantically to get out of their grandfather's grip.

"You do know that zombie-foxes require at least two small grand-kit brains a day," he laughed, holding the pair up near his face while flashing his teeth. "I haven't had any yet and you too look brainy." Olivia covered her eyes with one paw while pointing to Alvin with the other.

"Then eat his, mine isn't at tasty and his tastes like old prunes. You'd like them more!"

"Prunes? Who says I eat prunes? I'm a zombie fox remember, I only eat brains." He leaned forward, making a biting motion towards his granddaughter.

"Papa, put them down please. I won't have you eating my children this early in the afternoon." A middle-aged fox walked gracefully out of the kitchen, smoothing out her dress as she did. Her green eyes sparkling in the sunlight pouring through the large living room windows, giving her and the entire room an earthy glow. The silver furred fox let out a hearty laugh.

"Alright, alright. You win this time, Heather," he laughed, lowering the rabbit and fox onto the carpet where they quickly scampered behind their mother. "I won't eat them...this time." He winked over at his daughter who laughed softly, shaking her head. Alvin looked out from behind his mother's leg and stuck his tongue out at his grandpa. As if she instinctively knew what little Alvin was doing, she lightly tapped him on his snout.

"Behave Alvin, or you won't get any dessert after dinner."

The fox pup went rigid, his tongue disappearing into his mouth quickly.

"Grawpa?" He felt a soft tug on the leg of his khaki pants. He looked over the edge of his laz-e-sheep recliner, past the large group of young foxes and rabbits that were starting to gather back around him, and noticed a tiny grey bunny sitting near his paws. He felt a slight tug at his heart.

Oh, little Melissa. Her ears, tinged with black fur which slowly receded until reaching a light grey around her eyes. Little tuffs of charcoal colored fur scattered along the edge of her cheeks but what got him the most however, were her eyes. Giant pools of amethyst, which always seemed to be staring longingly up at her 'Grawpa'. The small rabbit lifted up her hands, and he dutifully reached down to scoop her up and set her on his lap.

"What is it, Melissa?" he cooed, stroking her long ears playfully, a move which caused the tiny bunny to giggle and squirm in his arms. His eyes began to moisten, while she swiped at his paw playfully. Melissa always had this affect on him.

"Can Grawpa tell us a story?"

He beamed at the young rabbit in his lap, her eyes pleading with him, practically begging for him to grant her request. Nearly every day she did this to him. He could never decline her either. This little rabbit owned his heart, even if he had to share it with his other 597 grandkits.

"Well, if it is alright with your mother," came the rote reply as the older fox looked up at his eldest daughter standing in the door frame to the kitchen. "Is that alright with you Heather?" She smiled back at him and he watched as dozens of young, wide, eyes quickly turned to his daughter.

She put a paw to her chin, as if deep in thought. "I...think we have time. There are still a few hours until dinner and I'm sure that, 'Grawpa', could finish in time for that, couldn't he?"

Those same dozens of eyes quickly turned back to him, excitement building in each of them. He chuckled as several of his grand-kits began thumping the carpet with their hind paws, or in the case of the fox kits, their bushy tails swishing quickly back and forth.

"Well, if your mother says it is alright with her, then it is alright with me." The old fox pushed himself up in his chair, pulling the back of his seat upright so he could better view the surrounding kits while gingerly holding Melissa safely in his lap. Leaning forward, he smiled at his posterity sprawled out on the aqua carpet before him. "So," he began. "Which story would you like to hear this time?"

Dozens of tiny paws flew into the air as many voices flooded the room.

"Oh! Tell us a story about Nick and Judy!"

The room hushed for a moment, before all the young kits surrounding him started screaming at once.

"Oo! Ooo! Tell us the pawpiscles story again! I love your friends in that one!" cried one of his many grand-rabbits.

"Tell us about how Nick and Judy first met!" shouted another, whose appearance was that of a fox, excepting the longer ears and slightly shorter, upturned tail.

"The one where Nick went savage and ripped up a fake deer!" barked Alvin. The old fox chuckled, that was one that Alvin always asked him to tell each and every day.

"Oh! What about their first kiss!" Olivia shouted. She began to blush as she held her paws in her lap. "That one's my favorite."

"Eww, nobody wants to hear that one," Alvin shouted. "That's just gross"

"No it isn't!"

"Yes it is!"

"No it isn't!"

"Uh huh!"

"Nu huh!"

The old vulpine chuckled as the two bickered back and forth, before their mother ruffled both of their ears, silencing them as they now began glaring at each other. Sticking their tongues out sporadically for good measure.

Again, he felt a soft tug, this time on his faded blue polo. He looked back down at the rabbit in his lap.

"Yes, what is it Melissa?"

"Can you tell us about the time they fell in love?" He felt the lump in his throat rise a little. You are too much like her...he thought. His mind was already at that moment, reflecting on what he had been able to witness that day as those two so long ago finally admitted their love to each other. He knew them so well, and had been hoping for that day for many long weeks by that point.

Especially when it came to Judy.

The old fox chuckled, remembering how many times he had seen Judy talking with the other officers at the precinct, hushing her voice as she asked them about what Nick might have told them that day about her. The few times he had seen Nick in the changing rooms of the ZPD, talking himself up in the mirror as he built up the courage to finally ask his his friend to be more than that. He had chuckled the first few times he witnessed it, but after a few times, the fox had ignored the laughter.

Though the story had it's sadder moments, that he had committed to memory all too well. Tears threatened to fall as he remembered seeing how they looked in the hospital so many times. The casts, the pain, and finally...

Wiping at his tears beginning to trickle down his eyes as he looked around, he began noticing that all of the eyes in the room were on him. Even Olivia and Alvin had stopped their bickering and were watching him with rapt attention. His daughter stood leaning in the doorframe, her eyes telling him he didn't have to relive those experiences again.

He wasn't sure himself if he could tell that story again. It was his most treasured memory of Nick and Judy he had. But the eyes on his lap were pleading with him. The elderly fox smiled as he looked down at the rabbit in his lap.

Her eyes...

He couldn't say no to her.

He could make it through telling this story again.

For them.

His favorite Sly Bunny and Dumb Fox.

Making up his mind, the old fox nodded somberly, "If that is the story you want, then that is the one you will hear." Dozens of tiny voices cheered as he cleared his throat. He rubbed his paws over his ears out of habit, the silver fur dancing in the sunlight. "I will tell you this story in remembrance of the heroes of Zootopia, who we in this family owe all of our happiness to."

"The story of them falling in love, began on a beautiful, summer's day. A long, long, time ago..."


	2. A Howling Good Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy and Nick are nigh inseparable, and have become standard bearers for peace between predator and prey in Zootopia. Though with a high profile in the ZPD, they have become high profile targets themselves. If the evil that looms in the dark recesses of the city manages to tear their relationship apart, will the rest of Zootopia crumble with it?

Another peaceful day in Zootopia. It had been a rather uneventful summer for the city, a rare experience that its citizens were grateful for. The usual mid-summer crime wave that had hit the city in the previous year had not occurred, and most of the mammals knew the reason as to why.

Though that didn't mean that some animals at least tried to break the law...

"Stop, stop in the name of the law!" A familiar voice echoed over the otherwise peaceful park outside the tiny city of Little Rodentia. Mammals turned and looked up from their otherwise regular activities to spot two wolves bearing down the main thoroughfare of the park. One of them clutching a purse as he ran, the other knocking over trash cans to halt the progress of two mammals chasing after them; a small grey rabbit and a red fox.

"Catch me if you can, fluffbutt!

"I think he was talking to you, Carrots." Nick grinned at his partner. The rabbit reminded herself to give him a playful shove later. She shelved the thought as she leapt over an overturned trashcan rolling in the middle of the pathway, rolling as she hit the ground to rejoin the pursuit. Nick and Judy had spotted the pair of wolves snatching an armadillo's purse and when they approached, the wolves had decided to make a break for it.

Not the best of choices when the officers that are chasing you are a fox and a rabbit.

"Officers McHorn, Rhinovich! This is Officer Hopps! We are in pursuit of two wolves involved in a 211, robbery in Savannah Central Park, do you copy?"

"Copy that, Officer Hopps," came the rough reply over the radio. "Where do you want us to go?"

"Well, Carrots here will probably want an espresso and carrot donut so the coffee shop down the street would be a good place to start."

"NICK!"

The fox grinned at his partner, as the un-amused bunny offered him a silencing glare as they ran, though both could hear a slight snickering coming from her radio.

"Ignore my partner. We are near the center of the park heading east," she yelled into her radio. "Head towards the eastern entrance on Acacia Lane."

"Roger that, Officer Hopps. We'll meet you there."

"Had to say it Carrots, you like that shop's carrot cake muffins a bit too much." Nick caught his laugh and ducked, barely avoiding a tree limb that went whizzing over his head. Torn off a nearby willow by the lead suspect. "Guess these two want to branch out with their crime spree."

Judy rolled her eyes, offering s hint of a smile at the Fox's attempt of a pun. Usually she wouldn't mind them, but with how frantic this chase and how focused they needed to be, she really didn't feel like she could take her mind off of what was happening at the moment.

"Nick, we need a plan, do you have one?" Judy huffed as the pair rounded a corner, keeping the wolves barely in sight as they navigated the winding path. Ahead of the wolves, several bicycling gazelle's were out on a leisurely ride when the wolves sped past them, knocking them over into the bushes on either side of the path. Judy and Nick raced past the downed animals, wanting to stop and help but knew they needed to stop these wolves, and fast, or someone could really get hurt.

"I think I have an idea, Carrots," Nick puffed as he slid past one of the downed bicycles and nearly tripped over one of the gazelles. "Remember what we did at Cliffside?" His eyes took on a distinct twinkle."

For a moment, Judy was confused. Cliffside? The asylum where all the savage animals were hidden? Her mind wandered for a moment yet her pace didn't slow. I mean, we did so much there, and what would that have to do with...wolves! Judy's eyes gleamed as she remembered how they snuck past the guard at the asylum in the first place.

"Sly fox," Judy laughed as they rounded a corner. Even with all the obstacles the wolves had thrown in their way, the two were catching them quickly.

"You know it!" Both fox and bunny cupped their hands to their mouths and began howling as they ran. Nick felt like his lungs were on fire as he tried to run and howl at the same time, though he noticed Judy seemed barely strained at all.

Nick was glad when the plan worked.

One of the wolves jerked to a stop, his ears twitching as he raised his head to the sky and began howling in reply. It lasted only a second before he realized what he was doing and tried to sprint away again. It was the only second the pair of officers needed.

They both slammed into the wolf at full speed, knocking him head over tail and causing him to tumble into a nearby silverthorn bush. The wolf howled in pain as he tried frantically to escape the prickly shrub, all to no avail. The second wolf holding the purse skid to a stop, looking back frantically at his partner in crime who lay whimpering in pain, before bolting again down the path.

Judy and Nick stopped briefly in front of the cowering wolf, only long enough to whip out a pair of pawcuffs and cuff the lupine to the base of the large shrub. Then off they were again on their pursuit as the wolf whined pitifully in the depths of the thorny brush.

"I think he got the point, don't you agree, Fluff?"

"Less talking, more running," came the annoyed reply.

"All right, you're the boss."

The two continued the chase as their neared the east entrance of the park. Again they tried to howl to bring the other wolf to a stop, though this time he covered his ears with his paws to avoid the sound. His eyes squinting as if in pain from trying to ignore his natural instinct to howl back.

The pathway straightened out as they neared the entrance, allowing both fox and rabbit to put on an extra burst of speed, closing the distance by several yards in just a few moments.

"We're almost to the park exit Officer McHorn, block it with your vehicle so he can't escape," Judy hollered into her radio. She heard a slight grunt of acknowledgement over the radio and saw the distinct white and black top of a police cruiser speeding down the road towards the exit. They were now only 500 yards away from the exit when Nick felt a a soft tapping on his side.

"Nick, I have an idea. Slow down," Judy exclaimed, her eyes registering something that apparently Nick was missing.

"What? The rabbit telling the fox to slow down? We almost have them!"

"Just..trust me on this. I think you'll like it."

Nick looked at her, a puzzled expression on her face but nodded in assent. They were only about 25 yards behind the remaining thief and 200 yards from the exit, but Nick acquiesced and began slowing down. He finally realized what his partner had in store and grinned.

"I think I see what you are getting at now Hopps."

"I was hoping you would," she replied. "Act exhausted."

"No problem there," he huffed, quickly falling onto his back with a hand over his chest. Judy deftly clicked on the radio. "Officer McHorn, when I say now, block the entrance.

An 'ok' was heard over the intercom as Judy leaned over, feigning exhaustion, while cupping her paws to her mouth and yelling quite loudly.

"How on earth was a wolf able to outrun a bunny! This can't be!"

Both noticed the wolf unclench his ears and turn his head to face them while nearing the exit to the park. He saw the fox laying flat on the ground and the rabbit bent over, reaching out at him with one paw while breathing heavily.

The wolf grinned. "You see! Nobody can outrun Barry Wolfstein!" he cackled. What he didn't see, was the smile spreading across Judy's face.

You're right where we want you now, she thought, turning the radio on. "McHorn, block the exit."

The wolf turned his head back towards the exit as he passed under the large portcullis, marking the entrance to the city park. Just in time to see the police cruiser stop directly in front of him.

Nick and Judy heard the loud, thump, from their position as the wolf ran straight into the parked vehicle. The door to the cruiser slammed open, flinging the poor mammal straight back into the park as a massive rhino slid out of the car.

"I guess that sound means I can get up now, eh Carrots?" Nick was propped up on his elbows, chuckling softly while watching McHorn and Rhinovich slapping pawcuffs onto the dazed lupine.

"Yes, that's exactly what it means." The two smiled as the wolf was hauled into the back of the police vehicle and the two rhino officers approached them.

"Well, that's one way to end a chase, Officers Hopps and Wilde." McHorn offered his hands out to Nick, lifting him off the ground and back onto his feet. "Though didn't you say there were two of them?

"The other one's a little ways back," Nick replied, trying to control the grin he had. "But not to worry," he quickly added as McHorn's eyes widened a bit and a scowl crossed his face. "He's a bit bushed at the moment so he isn't going anywhere."

Judy snickered at the inside joke, though still rolled her eyes, as the rhino shook his head. Every mammal in the precinct knew Nick had a talent at making puns at all the wrong times and McHorn was sure this must be one of them.

It took about 15 minutes and several more officers to pull the wolf out of the thorn bush as nobody wanted to accidentally fall in with him. It finally took an angry call from Chief Bogo to convince Officers Griswald, a large bear, and Officer Snarloff, a lion, to extract the poor lupine from his thorny predicament. Judy and Nick managed to find the armadillo whose purse was snatched and took her statement, positively identifying the wolves as the ones who had stolen from her. As things wrapped up, Nick and Judy walked slowly back up the path leading the group of officers back towards the exit of the park.

"Why did you have to go and howl like that? That isn't right!" the wolf whined behind them as the park exit came into sight. "That was just a jerk move to do, impersonating a wolf like that. It shouldn't be allowed!" A growl from Snarloff silenced the wolf's whining instantly as Judy and Nick turned to face the wolf.

"Well, maybe you shouldn't of stolen that purse in the first place," Judy retorted. "Plus, it isn't called a 'jerk move'." She smiled as Nick knew exactly where this was going. "It's called a hustle, sweetheart." A sly smile slid across her face as the wolf's face dropped. Snarloff loaded the stunned mammal into the patrol car, leaving Judy and Nick at the entrance of the park as the lion drove the thief back towards police headquarters for booking.

"Think we should have asked for a ride?" Nick asked, as the pair began walking back towards the main office of the ZPD. Judy halted for a moment, a paw coming up to her mouth.

"I hadn't even thought of that," she whispered, a slight pink hue settling on her cheeks.

"Aww, that blush is quite cute on you." Nick laid an arm around her shoulder as they walked, pulling her closer to him. She replied by poking him in the side with her elbow.

"You know you're not supposed to call a bunny cute, right?" She replied with a scowl, bumping him with her hip to throw him slightly off balance. He laughed good-naturedly.

"Do I know that?" he stated, repeating an oft stated line between them. "Yes, yes I do."

"Well, there is a punishment for it," Judy laughed as she crossed her arms across her chest.

"And what does my favorite partner have in mind?" He just noticed the glint in her eyes and was beginning to wonder if he had actually stepped over a boundary he shouldn't have crossed. They liked to jest quite a bit, all in good humor, of course, though sometimes he could take things a bit too far.

"The punishment, is...the last mammal to arrive at the ZPD has to fill out the paperwork." Judy pushed out from under Nick's arm and sprinted away down the street to a very shocked Nick. It took a few seconds for him to recover. He swore that he could hear her jovial voice saying a familiar line.

'Dumb fox,'

He had to laugh as he slowly began to jog after his partner, his head shaking at just how sneaky she had become. Maybe he was rubbing off on her a little too much? He pushed the thought aside as he started into a sprint, chasing after his partner who was now quite far ahead. He smiled.

Such a sly bunny.

\-------

"Welcome to the six o'clock news. I'm Peter Moosebridge. Today's top story, the crime which usually fills our city during the summer months is at an all time low. Most mammals give credit to the ZPD, and two of their newest recruis, Officers Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde who seem to be at the forefront of crime fighting in the city. It would appear..."

The TV screen went blank as the animal watching threw the remote down in disgust. It was amazing how just two mammals, and such small ones at that, could turn the entire city upside down in less than a year. Bellwether had almost succeeded when those two miscreants had foiled her plot, and now, they were the darlings of the city. The envy of all and were responsible for bringing the different mammals of the city closer than ever before. The love between predator and prey was sickening. He had been one of the few who had hoped that Bellwether's plans would have succeeded in seperating predator and prey for good.

Then those two, especially that fox, had to come along and ruin everything.

They had to be stopped.

And if any mammal was in a position to do that, it was definitely him. He chuckled as a plan began to form in his mind.

If the heroes of the city, a prey and predator could be broken up, their friendship torn apart, then all the progress Zootopia had made in the past year would shatter with them.

He smiled as he pulled out his phone. He had a plan, and needed to make several phone calls to start putting it into effect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still working on editing the story so that the formatting isn't lost while copying it over from my account on ff.net.


	3. A Long Night Ahead

"I am famished! What should we eat tonight?"

Judy was looking up at Nick as they left the ZPD, a slight hop to her step compared to Nick's leisurely gait. She watched as he scratched at his chin, acting deep in thought.

"Well, we could always go for some Mendicampum Holicifius soup. I've heard those eat it have quite a wild time afterwards. " He grinned mischievously.

"Nick! Seriously?" Even though she was trying to be mad, it wasn't coming out as such. He laughed lightly, patting her on the head while ruffling her ears. She shoved his hand off in feigned annoyance, then slightly hip-checked the fox as the finished climbing down the steps. It had become a game to them, these slight actions to see who could annoy the other the most. Judy quite enjoyed them, not that she would ever tell Nick that.

The two walked in silence for a moment, taking in the beautiful sites of the city around them. They passed by Grand Central Station, the sweeping horned shaped towers puncturing the skyline at the building's corners, casting deep shadows over the center of the square they were currently in. Judy remembered the first time pulling into that station. The hope and wonder that filled her mind as she first walked out its doors.

"Reflecting on old times, eh Carrots?" Judy was taken out of her daze by her friend's voice. She must have been gone for a bit as Nick had a tiny smirk on his face.

"I guess so..." she scratched at the back of her neck. "It's just crazy to think what's happened to both of us just in this last year."

Nick pondered the thought as well. A year ago, he was still hustling pawpsicles for a living with Finnick and thought that would never change, nor did he want it to. Then a certain meter maid had shown up in his life and changed it all. Since then it had been a non-stop adventure for both of them. First with the Nighthowlers case, then his time at the academy for six long months. He groaned inwardly. That was not an experience he would ever wish to repeat again.

It must have shown on his face as he felt a small paw on his side.

"Nick, you alright?"

He straightened up, politely waving off her concerns. "I'm perfectly fine. Just as long as we find some food and soon."

Judy smiled. As long as Nick could joke about food, he was good.

\------------------

They finally decided on a diner near their apartment complex, Big Bear Diner. The owner, a large grizzly by the name of Jack knew them well and since they had nailed a thief a few weeks back trying to break into his shop, the service were much better it seemed.

"Hey if it isn't my favorite two customers!" Jack roared as he saw the two of them walk in. "He pushed himself past a pair of elephants at the counter, trudging over to shake their hands. "It's good 'ta see you two again. It's felt like weeks since you've been here!"

"It's only been five days, Jack," replied Judy as the large grizzly shook not only her hand, but also nearly lifted her off the floor with each shake. Nick had a little rougher treatment and actually was lifted off the floor by the large mammal.

"Really, just that short of time? Well anyways, what do you two want, the regular for ya?"

"Sure thing Jack!" Nick replied as Jack lumbered back towards the kitchen, bellowing at his chef, a polar bear who could barely fit into the tight space behind the counter. "We have one Nick and Judy special and make it snappy! Them kids are hungry!"

Nick and Judy laughed as they weaved their way to an open seat near a back window of the restaurant. Judy relaxed into the large, cushioned seats, finally letting out a sigh of relief after such a long days work. Nick looked equally exhausted now that he was sitting down. It had truly been a long day, and Judy hadn't seen Nick run quite that long nor that far for quite some time. The park was by far the largest in all of Zootopia, stretching several miles from one end to the other, and they had nearly traversed it entirely during the chase. She was surprised that Nick even managed to keep up, as running she knew to be his least favorite activity.

"I am so glad that today is almost over," Nick groaned as he slid into the seat even further, his bright reddish fur nearly matching the lining of the cushions behind him. "If there is one thing I could ask of Chief Bogo, it would be that we could have our vehicle back."

"It's just a few more days Nick," Judy groaned back, stifling a yawn. "Besides, a little exercise won't kill you."

"Yes, but would you want to risk taking that chance?" came his retort. She shook her head as he stifled a laugh. "I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow since we have to finish our reports, which means no running around outside chasing crazy mammals."

Judy looked shocked for a moment. She hopped out of her seat and pushed herself up onto the table and placed the back of her paw on his forehead.

"What are you doing Hopps?" he asked, trying to push her hand away. The rabbit continued with her worried gaze.

"You must be sick! There is no other explanation for you wanting to do paperwork. Either that or someone has misplaced my best friend with an impostor!"

Nick laughed, "Hey, paperwork may be one of the last things that I want to do when I wake up each day, but running long distances is much higher on that list." Judy laughed as she scooted back down into her seat across from him. They again went silent, content with listening to the noises of the diner around them.

After having their orders delivered, the two began quickly into the meal and it wasn't until the food was nearly all gone when Nick next spoke. "So..." he began after finishing off a bite of blueberry pie, "Why do you always seem to sit on the other side of the table when we go out to eat?"

The question took Judy off guard. "Wait, do I always do that?" she stuttered. Is that something that is offensive to foxes? She wondered. She suddenly felt very embarrassed at such a simple question. She still didn't know much about Nick's history, or much about foxes in general. Was not being close to one during meals something taboo?

"It's just something I've noticed lately," Nick replied, shrugging his shoulders. "It's like you're afraid I'm going to eat you or something." He smirked, before stuffing another piece of pie into his mouth.

"Ha, ha, very funny Nick," she scoffed back at him. "Though with how you eat sometimes, it does feel like I could go missing if I sat too close to you." Nick gave her a expression of feigned horror. "Me, eat you? I would never do that to such a mammal as yourself. I am too evolved for such savage behavior." As if for show, he gently sliced a piece of his pie, and brought it daintily up to his mouth, holding one digit on his paw out for show.

"Well, I do remember one time, though, when you almost did. You did seem to have quite a tight hold on my neck with your teeth if I remember correctly," Judy snickered as Nick coughed loudly, the pie he had just eaten getting caught in his throat. She burst out laughing as her partner tried desperately to stop his choking fit. The two began getting quite strange looks as his coughing continued unabated.

"Nick, are you...alright?" Judy asked, now somewhat concerned about what was happening. "He gasped deeply, while pointing at throat, his face beginning to turn the same color as his pie. Judy quickly jumped up onto the table. "Nick, I'm going to try to loosen it out, can you bend forward?"

The fox did so, still coughing loudly. She hoped that this would work. When Nick was nearly laying flat on the table, she jumped up as high as she could, then slammed her feet down onto his back. Nick coughed louder than he had before, then stopped as Judy heard him take in a deep gasp of air. She gently hopped off his back and onto the seat next to him, rubbing his back gently. "You alright now."

The fox nodded quickly while reaching for his water and gulping it down feverishly. He finally set the empty glass on the table, letting out a contented sigh as most of the mammals that had been staring at them turned back towards their dinner.

He wrapped his arm his partner and enveloped her in a hug. "Thanks Judy," he murmured while trying to clear his throat. He began laughing softly as he rubbed her ears softly. "At least now I know what it takes for you to sit next to me."

Judy sat there with her mouth agape, before hopping back up onto the table and crossing over to the other side. For a moment Nick thought he had crossed a line with the look she was giving him, then, to his surprise (and delight), she picked up her plate and walked back across the table, gently setting it down next to his before plopping back down into the seat next to him. The two went back to finishing their meal, with Judy catching Nick on more than one occasion looking at her with a smile. He turned away after a moment, refocusing back on his food, missing the slight red tinge to her cheeks.

Such a dumb fox.

\---------------

Unbeknownst to the two officers quietly eating in the restaurant, a certain mammal was watching them from the second story of a nearby apartment. It wasn't his mind you, but the sheep that did own it was now tied up in the corner and presented no problem to him at this moment. With the shades drawn nearly to the bottom of the window, it left only a few inches for him to view out, but it was enough to watch how the fox and rabbit interacted together.

For nearly an hour he observed them, only occasionally glancing at the terrified sheep in the corner when he would hear a sound. As he watched the couple finish the meal and look to be preparing to leave, he knew that was his moment. He glanced over at the trembling sheep in the corner as he placed his briefcase on the bed.

"Oh don't be so frightened," he calmly exclaimed to the sheep as he flicked open the levers on his suitcase. The poor mammal was watching him nervously, his eyes widening in fear as he saw the dark figure what looked to be a small weapon of some sort out of the container. The sheep began struggling against his restraints as the figure loaded a single small round object of some sort into the weapon, and closing it with a slight hiss. The figure chuckled as the struggles of the sheep intensified and a damp spot appeared on the floor beneath the terror stricken mammal.

"Oh don't worry, I'm not going to kill you," the figure spoke. The sheep froze in terror as the large mammal in front of him flicked open a large knife. The sheep closed his eyes as the knife came down, but was surprised when it felt the restraints on its hooves cut away. He looked up at the figure before him, and finally in the moonlight was able to make out the figure of a large zebra.

"Surprised? I told you I wasn't going to kill you," the zebra stated, though for some reason it didn't calm the sheep at all. Rather the voice had a icy edge to it that gripped it in even more fear. The zebra pulled him towards the window and opened the blinds all the way. The sheep looked out and saw nobody in the plaza below, though he did see a fox and a rabbit walk out of the diner across the street in what appeared to be police uniforms.

"As I said, I'm not going to kill you," the zebra said as the sheep heard a loud pop and felt something hit his neck. The sheep began to spasm as the zebra picked him out and pushed him out of the window.

"They will."


	4. Terror of the Night

"I don't think I could eat another bite."

"Me either Carrots."

The two officers strolled out of the diner into the night, a tiny jingling bell signaling their departure. A cool breeze was blowing across the darkening sky, slight hints of reds and oranges just above the horizon. Several street lamps flickered to life as they began walking down the street together.

"You think Jack is trying to fatten us u?" Judy laughed, feeling full to the point of being slightly miserable.

"Well," Nick chuckled, "he is a bear and now is the time for them to start fattening up for hibernation."

"Oh," Judy exclaimed, a slight grin spreading across her face. "So there's a them now?"

Nick groaned.

"You caught me Fluff." Nick raised his hands in mock surrender. "My portion didn't seem as large as yours, so maybe he just wants to eat a certain bunny?" He grinned, making sure she noticed his teeth glistening in the moonlight

"Har har. I know for a fact Jack is a vegetarian." She stopped, rocking back and forth on her feet as a bemused Nick watched.

"How do you know that?"

"I saw him nibbling the lettuce on your cricket burger and whispering to his chef he wanted meat again."

"He didn't." The abject look of horror on Nick's face was priceless. Almost as good as when she had hustled him over his tax records.

If only I had a camera...

Judy continued her sly smile. "Why do you think I was snickering when you took your first bite Slick?"

Nick looked positively aghast as he continued staring down at his friend. "We're never eating there again."

Judy continued smiling until she couldn't take it any longer and started laughing.

"Wait a minute...did you just..."

He stood outside the cafe, staring at his friend who was now doubled-over in a giggling fit.

"Seriously? You believed that?" She laughed even harder as his Nick slapped a paw over his face.

"Never trust a bunny," he groaned as Judy finished laughing. "I'm really started to rub off on you the wrong way." He tussled her ears, laughing, as she grabbed at his paw with a soft 'hey!' reaching his ears. Judy chuckled softly, staring up with a smile at her friend. Nick's eyes were twinkling in the growing twilight and for a moment, she felt something twinge inside her chest. She felt her smile fade as she tried pushing the feeling away, not wanting it to spoil such a happy moment. A memory of the police academy swept into her mind. Her teacher, a large polar bear named Ursula bellowing at her class during the second week of training.

"You are to keep your heart locked away on the job! We can't have officers worrying more about their partner than the mission! Or guess what? You'll be dead!"

Judy's nose twitched slightly, but it was enough for Nick to notice.

"Carrots? You alright?"

She groaned inwardly, Nick knew her too well.

"Of course," she replied, a little too quickly, and with a fake peppiness that he must have spotted instantly. His arms crossed his chest as he leaned up against a nearby lamppost. She ran her paws over her ears, pulling them behind her head. "I just..." she sighed. Their partnership worked too well together for her to mess it up. She hated to lie to him, especially when she just wanted to blurt out what she was feeling. The last few words of Ursula's pep talk sprang to her mind again.

"I just...wanted to say thanks for dinner tonight." She fumbled with the words, unsure of his reaction. "You didn't need to pay for it, I have money you know." She put on her best innocent bunny smile she could muster, hoping it would be enough to convince him. He stood there for a moment before finally shrugging his shoulders.

"I would hope so Fluff," he finally quipped. "Otherwise I'd say you are paying way too much for that terrifyingly small apartment of yours."

The levity returned, Judy finally felt like she could let loose the breathe she was holding in. "Ha, ha. It isn't that bad."

Nick let out a snort, "The only thing that's a good deal there is the free entertainment from your neighbors." He waved his hands above him as if surrounding a bright neon sign. "The Bucky and Pronk show! Now showing, all day, every day!"

They both chuckled, though it was short lived as they heard a loud bleating coming from across the street. They turned in time to see a figure falling from a window of a building across the street, falling roughly onto a awning before the fabric collapsed. The two looked at each other, then sprinted across the road, dodging a few small mouse sized vehicles as they raced across the to the animal. As they reached the collapsed awning, they managed to untangle the mammal from the fabric.

From their first glances, whatever was happening to the poor creature, it definitely wasn't good. The guttural sounds coming from his throat were...unnatural to say the least. His body was convulsing in abnormal ways and as Judy checked the rams pulse, she found it was accelerating rapidly.

"Call an ambulance now!" Even though it was just past dusk, there were a few mammals on the street still and a few of them began moving towards them, their curiosity getting the best of them. Nick pulled his badge from his pocket, flipping it to the crowd as he surveyed the mammal in front of them. The sight of the badge seemed to calm several of the more curious onlookers and kept them a little further away from the accident.

Where have I seen this before...

He felt a shiver run through his spine, alarm bells ringing in his ears as he slowly tapped Judy's shoulder.

"Uh, Carrots..."

Judy quickly glanced back at Nick, who was pointing tentatively at the ram on the ground. "We need to go...now."

"Wait, what?"

She was dumb-founded as Nick rapidly turned to face the gaggle of onlookers.

"Everyone, leave the area, now! Get indoors if you can and hurry!"

"Nick! What are you doing!" she hissed. He was causing a scene and for what? She turned her attention back to the ram whose body was continuing its unnatural dance as appendages snapped into different positions. A mix between a gurgling sound and bleating came from his open mouth. Something about this was familiar, she just couldn't place the memory...

She felt paws around her shoulders roughly lift her from the sidewalk, dragging her backwards.

"Hey, what are you doing!" She struggled, but couldn't get the larger fox to let go.

"Judy...we need to go!"

He had used her first name again.

And that is when the realization hit her as her eyes widened in panic. Her eyes met Nick's and she could see the same fear inside his emerald eyes as her own.

That night long ago after Nick and her had first met. The time where they tracked down Mr. Big's driver.

The look in the jaguar's eyes when it had gone...

She looked back at the ram, whose struggles had slowed noticeable. It shook his head, then slowly, wobbly stood...

...on all fours.

She heard a voice call from the recesses of her mind, one dating back to before the idea of predator and prey mingling safely with one another. Back when fear ruled what would become Zootopia.

And it kept repeating the same word over and over.

Run

Both Nick and her turned, scrambling away from the awning while sprinting down the sidewalk. A guttural bleating sound behind them and the clatter of hooves on cement.

"I thought we were done running away from rams!" Nick huffed as the two booked it down the street, yelling at the few stragglers who were still outside to run inside.

"We need to get him away from civilians!" Judy yelled as they jumped over a short fence surrounding the outside eating area of a cafe closed for the night. Skirting the tables and chairs, they hopped over the other side of the fence as they heard a crashing sound behind them. Nick chanced a look behind him, only to quicken his pace as he watched tables and chair being tossed about like paper as the ram smashed through them.

"Follow me!" Nick yelled, grabbing Judy's hand as he quickly turned to his right and skirted down an alley. "Get Bogo on the line," he shouted, dodging trash cans, boxes and other trash littering the alley. Behind them they could hear the din of the savage ram smashing the assorted piles of debris to pieces. They burst out of the alley onto a more deserted avenue and began running down the center of the road, the ram gaining in its chase. "I'll distract him."

"You'll what?" Judy screamed, her eyes widening as they raced across the street and across into another alleyway. She was panicking now. The last time they had dealt with a savage mammal, they had nearly died just to escape from him. And now Nick wanted to try and bait one? "There is no way I'll let you do something that dumb."

"Just...trust me!" His eyes were filled with fear, but a pleading glint in them as well.

"Whatever you're planning, we're doing it together!"

His eyes showed a momentary flash of sadness at her reply.

"Sorry Carrots, I can't see you getting hurt again."

Judy felt herself pushed sideways as the pair skirted the side of a large truck, landing harshly onto the cement and rolling underneath the vehicle. She jumped to her paws, glaring at Nick who she could tell was mouthing the words, 'I'm sorry' as he sprinted past, the ram in hot pursuit and unaware of the small lupine nearby.

"Sweet cheese and crackers! Nick!" She watched as Nick began haphazardly dodging and weaving around vehicles and light posts, the ram slipping and sliding on the pavement in an effort to give chase.

Nick stopped in front of a parked car as the ram neared, jumping quickly out of the way as the animal smashed into the side of the vehicle. Nick rolled to his feet, his academy training paying off as he raced back in Judy's direction as the ram shook off the impact and gave chase.

"Call Bogo, get backup here now!" Nick yelled to her as he sprinted past, the ram finally again on its hooves and giving chase to the fox again.

She quickly dialed HQ as she watched in horror as Nick continued having close call again and again with near disaster with the ram. After what seemed like an eternity, she heard a friendly voice on the other side of the line.

"Oh Judy! How are you! Are you and..."

"Clawhauser!" she screamed into the phone, her hands shaking. "We have an 11-99, officers in need of assistance on Catsio and Wombat! Mammal gone savage!" She heard the cheetah respond as she hung up. She winced as she watch Nick had barely avoid being gored, diving behind a cement planter box outside a Hoof Locker store. She had to get out there to help him. She had called the ZPD, now she just needed to figure out to help Nick.

Nick flinched as the remnants of the planter box showered him debris, his breath coming in rapid pants. He took off down the sidewalk, skirting another flowerbed as he heard the now all too familiar sound of hooves on cement renew its chase.

How in Zootopia is that thing still conscious after that! he wondered. He had studied the effects that nighthowler had on animals, increased rage, aggression, endurance; but this was to an entirely new level of insanity.

This thing just doesn't stop! He raced past another vehicle, a large truck with a massive grill over the front of it. He made a grab for the grill, using his momentum to swing around the front of the truck and back out into the road, just barely avoiding the horns of the ram as it sped past him. He rolled to a stop on the cement, panting heavily when he felt a paw reach under his arm, helping him up.

"Judy! What are you doing!" he managed to wheeze out.

"Backup's coming!" she said as Nick managed to push himself off the ground.

"Good," the fox panted. Judy could see the exhaustion on his face and how he was holding his side with a pained look on his face. "Stomach is feeling a bit sheepish today."

She rolled her eyes as the two began to jog the opposite way the ram had went. "Not the time Nick!"

"Sorry..."

"Apologize later!" At least...she hoped there was a later.

It seemed as if the quick turn Nick had made, managed to lose the ram for a moment. The two crawled under the truck just in the nick of time. The truck shuddered as the ram crashed into it, lifting the vehicle slightly and popping the whole left side of the vehicle off the ground.

"What do we do now!" Judy hissed at Nick as the truck continued to rock with each hit. She winced, covering her ears as the truck's alarm began blaring, echoing loudly off the roadway and into their hiding place. The loud wailing only seemed to anger the ram further as the truck began to rock more violently.

"We got to go!" Nick rasped as the truck took another savage blow, knocking it up so much that they could actually see the savage mammal glaring at them. Judy nodded, an idea forming in her mind. She fumbled in her pocket for her phone and crawled towards where the ram was gearing for another run at the truck.

"Carrots!" Nick hissed, "What are you doing! Judy!" He crawled after her as she reached the edge of the truck and the ram began running towards them again. She aimed the phone up and pressed a button on the side.

A bright light flashed from the phone, blinding the ram as it swerved to the side and careened into the wall of a nearby storefront. The pair scrambled from underneath the truck, staring in shock at the damage the ram had done to the vehicle, then turned and booked it down the road as they heard the ram scrambling to its hooves, still somewhat blinded by the flash of Judy's phone.

"I hope you keep that picture," Nick nervously laughed. The pair heard the clip-clopping of hooves behind them and quickened their pace. Judy's ear twitched as she heard sirens way off in the distance.

"Nick, this way!" she shouted, pointing towards the sounds that he had yet to hear.

"Better idea, follow me."

She looked at Nick who pointed her attention to a large metal dumpster sitting against the side of a building a block away. A large ramp ran its way up to the lip of the dumpster, most likely to help the smaller mammals in tossing away garbage.

"We need to trap him, tranqs won't put him down."

Judy nodded, understanding what Nick wanted to do. The two made a beeline for the container as the ram began gaining on them.

"When I say now," Nick panted, a tight grimace etched onto his maw, "jump to the side."

They closed the gap to the large dumpster in seconds. Judy heard a cry come to her right. Thinking it was Nick giving the command, she leapt to her left. She jerked her body around, to see if the plan had worked. Instead, her eyes filled with dread.

Nick had tripped.

She saw him look towards her, a look of panic cross his feature, then...

Acceptance...

The ram collided into Nick, throwing the fox easily into the air and into the wall above the dumpster with a sickening crunch. Her mind went numb as she watched his body fall before disappearing into the large container.

Her throat went raw as she screamed his name.

The next moment was simply a blur. She saw the ram turn towards her, but her shock kept her frozen in place. She felt the moment of impact as the rams curved horns connecting with her body, throwing her across the street and into the curb. The pain was intense enough to wake her from her trance, yet her eyes were still focused on one place. She had to get to him. Had to see if he was alright!

Stumbling to her feet, she began walking to the container, oblivious to the ram across t he street from her, foam beginning to appear around its maw. Behind the savage beast, a red paw faintly appeared over the top of the dumpster, a fumbling attempt at grabbing onto the edge of the container. The dread inside her burst and she felt, what must have been tears, begin streaming down her face.

She started sprinting.

He's alive!

The ram released a horrible noise as it again charged at the rabbit.

Neither animal noticing the truck barreling down the road towards them.

Nick finally pulled himself up and on top of the ledge, gagging at the stench that surrounded him now. He tried resting on the edge, but cringed as the pain in his chest where the ram had knocked into him. His mind was fuzzy and trying to focus on anything was painful. His whole body was shouting at him, begging him to stop moving, the adrenaline in his system was one of only two things keeping him from collapsing back into the pile of filth below. The other being her.

Judy needed him, and he simply couldn't leave her out there alone.

The loud blaring of a truck's horn woke him from his stupor. He turned towards the sound and as his head turned, he spied a small grey object running towards him with the ram closing in on her. His eyes widened in horror.

Then all he saw was a blur of a truck smash into the ram, the crunch of bone and flesh against metal distinctly ringing in his ears. As the truck skid to a stop, his partner was nowhere to be seen. His mouth began quivering as he somehow found the strength to pull himself up and over the dumpster, falling harshly onto the ground. He didn't care. He staggered over to where he last saw her, ignoring the driver of the vehicle who had jumped out and fled his produce truck. Sirens could be heard down the street, flashes of reds and blues bouncing off the walls of houses and storefronts. Rounding the vehicle, he finally saw a grey patch of fur, laying motionless in the road. His knees buckled.

"JUDY!"


	5. Patients, please!

Dislocated left shoulder, two bruised ribs, concussion, fractured digit on left paw, bruising on paws and ears, severe abdominal strain...

Nick groaned in pain as he read the last one off the folder in his good paw. Out of all the injuries, that was fast becoming the most annoying and painful. He had had cracked ribs before and knew how to get about his daily tasks, albeit with some difficulty. Even the shoulder hadn't been this bad, even when the doctor, a massive bear by the name of Griswood, had popped it back into place.

He was sure his howling was heard at least two blocks in any direction from the hospital.

This however...it felt like he had an elephant sitting on his stomach at all times. Nick closed the folder, hissing in pain as he leaned over towards the table to the left of his bed and dropped the files onto them before collapsing back into the hard cushions. He sucked in a deep breath, ignoring the pain in his chest from his cracked ribs, blowing it out slowly to try and help lessen the throbbing in his gut.

He made a mental note to ask for more sedatives whenever the doctor checked up on them next.

At just the thought, his gaze turned to the bed to his right. He watched the small mammal in the other bed, the blankets covering her rising and falling every so often in alignment with beeps coming from a machine nearby. Guilt flooding his mind as he remembered what happened last night. If he wouldn't have tripped, they both would not have been here.

After being hit by the ram and knocked into the dumpster, the only thought on his mind was his partner. He hadn't planned for his trick to not work, which left her out in the street alone with a savage animal. He had heard her pain filled cries as he could only have assumed she had been gutted by the ram as he had been.

He had desperately tried to climb out of the metal box he was in, just to see, if anything, he could distract the ram to give Judy some time to escape. The telltale whining of sirens had finally come into earshot, so he only needed to give her a few seconds before backup could arrive. Clawing his way out of the dumpster, he barely managed to get his head and upper body out of it...

...just in time to see Judy and the ram get hit by a passing truck.

At least, that is what he thought he had seen.

Somehow he had managed to push himself out and across the street, his body screaming at him to stop. As he passed the truck, he finally saw her, unconscious, but off to the side of the truck and not turned into a puddle of meat and fluff in front of it. After that, waking up in the hospital was the only thing he could remember.

When he had awakened, his first thoughts went to his partner. Where was she? Was she alright? He had begun tearing at the IV's in his arm in an attempt to leave to find her when several orderlies, as well as Officers Fangmeyer and Delgato prevented him from leaving the confines of his bed. Delgato even threatening he would handcuff him to it if he didn't calm down. The only thing that finally brought him to his senses was the doctor, a portly wildebeest, telling him that Judy was indeed alive, but in surgery, and he could see her when it was finished.

The nurse call button on the side of his bed become the bane of the nurses in the ward during that time. Finally, after enough complaints about him, Chief Bogo himself stormed in, telling the fox that if he did not stop pressing the button to find out what was happening with Judy, he would order the doctors to put him under so many sedatives that he would be out for a week. After a terse argument between the two, Bogo finally relenting to one demand, allowing Nick to be placed in the same room where Judy would be after surgery.

The two hours that followed were the longest of his life.

Finally, several nurses came into the room, wheeling a second bed into the room, one that dwarfed the small, grey rabbit sleeping peacefully on it.

That was ten minutes ago, and now here he was, watching his partner sleeping. It was a thought that somewhat made him uncomfortable, knowing that she would get after him later for it. Nick, however, could care less about what she thought of him later. He just wanted to make sure there was a later they could argue about. The slow rise and fall of the blanket covering her allowed him to relax. He blamed himself for what had happened to her. When they first came across the ram after its tumble to the sidewalk, he recognized the symptoms immediately.

I should have pulled her away sooner. We never would have been chased if I hadn't of hesitated...

He hung his head at the thought, all of this could have been avoided if he had simply yanked her away sooner. They could have simply hid in the diner or followed the ram at a safer distance and let the ZPD know what was happening. After Nick's warning everyone had left the streets so there was nothing gained by him hesitating like that.

At least she's still alive...

That single thought reverberated in his mind as he refocused back on his partners small form laying peacefully in the bed beside him, his eyes slowing closing as he drifted off into a fitful sleep.

\------------------

Nick rubbed at his eyes, had he fallen asleep? He maw opened in a large yawn, which turned to rasping gasps as his stomach muscles twitched painfully from his yawn. He glanced over at the clock on the wall...

5:24? He glanced at the single window in the room, light filtering in from behind closed shades. With the amount of light seeping in, it couldn't be morning he realized. Did I sleep for that long? Nick turned back to the other bed and his jaw went slack. It was empty.

Where was Judy?

A flushing sound came from behind a door underneath the clock. A few seconds later, the door opened with a click. An artic hare slowly opened the door, in one arm holding up a large pole connected to an IV the other placed on the back of a certain grey bunny, slowly making her way out of the bathroom with the help of a rabbit sized walker.

She looked absolutely disheveled, not to mention...soaking wet? All of his worry seemed to melt away as his friend slowly made her way out of the bathroom. Her ears hung low behind her head, dripping water in little splotches behind her as she walked. Nick finally realized the nurse had a towel in her one free hand, trying desperately to dry off the soaking rabbit. Judy finally turned her attention to his bed and their eyes connected.

Apparently he must have looked just as terrible as she did as her face remained blank. Her nose began twitching, not the fearful kind he recognized from the news conference during the Nighthowler investigation, but from worry. For several moments the only sound in the room being the soft tick-ticking of the clock on the wall. Finally Judy's voice broke the silence.

"Third time we've been in this room in the past six months and they have yet to install a rabbit sized toilet."

"Did you just repeat what happened at the academy...again."

"Shut it Nick!"

Nick let out a coy smile as Judy mumbled something at him he couldn't quite hear.

"Maybe the fifth time we both are injured they'll have it installed for you."

"Nick, if you don't stop, I'll get Bruno Bearson in here and have him put a cone on you."

"I've tried suppressing that memory Carrots, so please," he replied with a shudder, "don't bring it back up again."

The orderly helping Judy switched her focus between the two of them, letting out a long, exasperated sigh as she shook her head. Out of all the rooms I had to be assigned to toady...she grumbled internally...it had to be these two.

Judy finally made it to her bed and was helped under the covers by the orderly who then seemed to rush out of the room quite quickly. Judy groaned, rubbing at her head with both paws.

"How are you feeling?" Nick asked, the sarcasm of a minute before leaving as quickly as it came.

Judy felt the tenderness in his voice again and suppressed a smile. They both knew how much Nick used humor to cover any other emotion he might be feeling, especially fear or worry. Even with the banter they just exchanged, she could tell he only meant it as a way to help her feel better and alleviate the pain he knew she was in.

"I feel like I've been hit by a car..." Judy replied roughly. "I just remember seeing headlights and..."

"Well, you aren't far off," Nick quipped back. "It was actually a vegetable truck. Guess it is in revenge for all the carrots you've eaten."

Judy rolled her eyes as she glanced over at Nick, a mix of irritation and amusement in her eyes. Even after a year of spending time with him she still had no understanding of how even in life or death situations, he could somehow manage to turn the entire situation into some sort of punch line. She overruled that line of thought immediately. She would be more concerned if he hadn't of replied with some sort of sarcastic remark.

"Har har slick. What really happened? I can't seem to remember anything past the headlights."

Nick sighed, "I don't know much myself. I...kind of passed out after I saw you laying next to the truck and only woke up here. I did hear some of the nurses earlier mention how you're now an appendix free bunny. Apparently the ram hit you hard enough to rupture it." Nick scratched at his chin. "Honestly, I didn't even know you had one of those."

"That explains a lot," Judy groaned. Touching her side, she felt the outline of several stitches along her stomach. Several of her littermates had had to have their appendixes removed for one reason or another and had complained quite a bit about the pain after the surgery. At least now she understood what they had gone through. She hadn't been patient with them, telling them that it couldn't be that bad. Now that she was the patient, she felt like she should probably apologize to her siblings.

"Did you hear anything about the ram?"

Nick shrugged his shoulders. He had been out before their fellow officers had arrived so he suspected that the ram was probably in another wing of the hospital being administered the nighthowler serum.

The two stayed silent for a few moments. Judy taking stock of her surroundings while Nick contemplated on pressing the call button again as a gurgling sound came from his stomach.

"I'm guessing I've been out a while?"

"Apparently so." Nick nodded as he gently picked up the file on the tabletop near him. He winced only a little from the pain, which thankfully felt like it was starting to ebb. That or while he was asleep they had given him more drugs, either situation he was more than happy to have happen. He motioned at a file folder identical to his own placed on the edge of Judy's bed. The rabbit opened it slowly, analyzing the detailed report of what had happened as Nick repeated what he knew.

"I can't remember what time we left the diner, but the file says we arrived here around 8:32pm. Sometime after that they found your ruptured appendix and whisked you off to surgery." Judy nodded, her eyes darting over the same information in her file as his own. Nick closed the folder, dropping it to his lap. "After that..." he tossed his hands into the air. "I'm not really sure. I just remember Bruno playing 'pop goes the shoulder' with me and you being wheeled in here early this morning." He turned to face his friend, who was still consuming the information on the file folder she was holding.

"I'm just glad you're alright Carrots."

Judy's ears perked up. His voice was much softer than even a moment before. She slowly closed the file before setting it down on the bed. Her eyes fixated on his and noticed that there was a certain tenderness to them that she rarely seen before; the last time being when they are stumbled upon a young fox in Tundratown, shivering in a back alleyway. The moment Nick had seen the shivering little kit, he had taken off his jacket and covered the youngster with it, carrying him into their cruiser with that same concerned look on his face as he had now. He spent every minute Judy had seen him the following week searching for the young cubs parents, showing a passion and drive that was even tiring her out. She had meant to ask him why the kit had meant so much to him, when they had seen dozens of animals living on the streets before. He had simply shrugged and walked off.

It was that same initial look of concern that was etched into his features now. She nervously scratched at her ears. "Thank...you, Nick. I'm glad you're ok as well."

The quiet, somewhat awkward moment between the two ended as the door burst open, causing the two officers to jump slightly as their boss walked into the room.

"Ah, Hopps, Wilde, I see that you are both awake now." The water buffalo crossed his arms over his chest as he stared down at them.

"Forgive me chief if I don't sit up, that sheep's' rampage last night kind of took it out of me."

Usually after such a snarky remark, Nick would see a slight upturn of the buffalo's mouth, yet today it just seemed to deepen his scowl.

Bogo snorted, "As the two of you have been fairly comatose the past day, I'll let that remark slide Wilde. The ram that attacked you is dead. He died on the way to the hospital."

Both officers looked at each other in shock before turning back to their boss and shouting at him in unison.

"WHAT?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, just to clarify on timelines. This story takes place roughly a year after the events of the movie. After reading the subreddit, I have found that the movie most likely ended in August, with Nick graduating the following May as the directors said the academy takes 9 months to go through. Nick and Judy now have been partners roughly six months, so the story takes place roughly in November.


	6. Shock and Awww's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy and Nick are nigh inseparable, and have become standard bearers for peace between predator and prey in Zootopia. Though with a high profile in the ZPD, they have become high profile targets themselves. If the evil that looms in the dark recesses of the city manages to tear their relationship apart, will the rest of Zootopia crumble with it?

Bogo stared at two of his finest officers with a glare that could melt steel. He had seen the footage of the chase that Nick and Judy had been involved in and even to him, he was incredulous at the amount of damage the ram had done to the street, as well as to itself before its final moments. It was going to be a nightmare for him to be able to withhold this from the press.

He snorted, noticing his two officers involuntarily jump. There was still a degree of fear in his city that the nighthowler epidemic wouldn't stop with Bellwether's arrest and the last thing he needed was for the press to get a hold of this story, especially the idea that a ram was the mammal that had gone savage. The last thing he needed was Peter Moosebridge at ZNN announcing to the world that now prey could be affected by nighthowlers.

"Even if that ram had survived," Bogo started, "this whole mess of an incident has huge ramifications for this city." Bogo felt the smirk coming from Nick. "SHUT IT WILDE! It isn't the time!" The traces of Nick's mouth turned downward yet again. "What I don't need or want is this becoming a huge public relations disaster, especially as this whole incident has involved the two officers who supposedly cracked, and closed this case a year ago. Do you understand what that means..."

His eyes traveled from the fox to the rabbit, waiting for a reply from either of them. Hopefully not from Wilde as the fox knew how to paw his buttons and today he was not in the mood for it. Though from the look on Judy's face, he could tell her mind was swirling at a thousand miles per second and the pitiful look on her face made him realize he should probably tone himself down a little, at least for her sake. The ZPD had footage from all of the traffic cameras in the area and Bogo had seen the entire chase from start to finish at least four times now while Nick and Judy had been in the hospital.

He really hoped she wasn't going to blame herself for what happened.

All Nick noticed was Chief glaring at his partner. Or was he? The fox couldn't tell very well, the pain suppressants in his system seemed to be affecting his mind in odd ways. He just saw the glare, and his fur began to stand on edge.

"Sir," Nick replied, a hint of anger in his tone. "I understand what that means and all, but we were kind of up against a wall, literally, there for a few moments. You can't blame us for what happened." For some reason Nick had a building feeling of anger towards the chief. "And don't go blaming Judy for this."

"Did I say I blamed her, Officer Wilde," Bogo snorted. Something was off with Nick, he could tell. The fox looked like he had something between a snarl and a smirk on his face.

"I think I could say it was slightly inferred."

"I didn't infer anything," Bogo snapped, stalking over to Nick's bedside, "not by anything you two had done."

"That's what this is beginning to sound like," Nick shot back.

"Don't even start with me, Fox."

"Oh, so it isn't Officer anymore?" Nick had no idea where this anger was coming from. He glanced over at Judy. Seeing the blank stare in her eyes seemed to cause his blood to boil a bit more. Bogo had caused something to happen to her, and he just felt some urge to protect her. "Does old Buffalo Butt not care about what happens to his officers anymore?"

"Would you care to repeat that?"

Nick was about to retort when his ears picked up a soft voice behind him.

"It was me..."

Nick's ears fell flat against his head at the sound, little more than a hushed whisper and barely audible over whatever his boss was hollering at him in the moment. Slowly turning around, his eyes widened in panic.

"Did you hear what I just said Wilde!" Bogo roared behind him.

Judy was staring at everything and nothing at once. Her eyes wide in what Nick recognized as pure horror. Her nose twitching rapidly as she slowly sunk back into her bed, the pillow nearly absorbing her small frame.

Oh no....

"I killed him..."

The look on Judy's face crushed Nick faster than the ram had. The anger, the hate vanished in a flash; worry replacing it faster than his heat was beating.

"No, no, no Judy," Nick plead, "It wasn't your fault at all. It was the serum inside him that caused all of this."

Judy's eyes slowly turned to his own, so much pain in them that Nick shuddered unwillingly at the sight. "I kicked him into the road," Her voice sounded hollow and unfamiliar to Nick and it was worrying him. "It was me. I...I'm a killer."

The dam holding everything in, burst.

Tears flooded down her cheeks and her body began being racked by sobs. Her whole frame trembling with each sob. For once in his life, Nick didn't know what to do.

"Judy, it wasn't your fault." Bogo's voice had lowered substantially as he realized what was happening. "You did absolutely nothing wrong and anyone would have done the same thing in your situation." He looked down at her and sighed. In public he would never admit to having a favorite officer. It would seem as a belittlement to other officers and he didn't want to be shown as having favorites. Yet in his mind, Judy was the best officer he had in Precinct 1, and watching her crush herself destroyed him a little on the inside.

"Hopps," he slowly walked over to her bedside, his towering frame shadowing her tiny form. "You can't blame yourself for what happened." He had said that once to her before, in city hall right before she had turned in her badge for feeling like a failure to the hopes and aspirations she once had. "The only person responsible for this is whatever mammal hit him with the serum. You can't blame yourself for other's actions."

He placed a hoof gently onto her paw, causing Nick's jaw to slide open. Judy didn't seem to respond at all, the tears still flowing without restraint, hiccupping sounds coming from her in quick succession. Several minutes passed, Bogo kneeling at her bedside in an act of comfort that he finally realized would not be able to break the shell of pain enveloping the doe. He sighed heavily before he began to stand.

"I'll check back with you in the morning," he muttered softly as he passed both of their beds. As he reached the door, he took one last look behind him. Nick returned his glance, nodding softly as if saying, thank you for trying, albeit with a hint of anger before the fox's attention turned back to his partner.

Bogo sighed, his shoulders falling as he gently opened, then closed the door behind him. He turned towards the officer sitting on a nearby bench.

"Officer Felix," the lanky panther jumped to his feet. "If these two need anything, let me know immediately. And make sure that no press is allowed even near that door. If they even come near it, arrest them. I don't want Officers Hopps and Wilde to be disturbed, they need their rest."

The panther replied with a yes sir before saluting and moved to stand outside of the door leading to the room Bogo had just exited.

The cape buffalo mentally kicked himself as he walked to the elevator. He had let the fox and his anger get to him...again. Originally he had gone in there to update them on his findings about the case. How they had searched the apartment the ram had been in and found evidence of some other mammal being in the room with the ram.

He should have started with that, he thought as he pressed the down button, waiting for the elevator to arrive. Now it didn't make any difference. He had accidentally emotionally destroyed his best officer under his command. The doors dinged in front of him and he walked into the tight compartment, pressing the key for the first floor. Only one mammal had a chance of bringing Hopps out of her state he mused, the doors to the elevator closing in front of him.

He hoped for her sake that Wilde would be able to do just that.

\--------------

Nick watched in sadness as Judy continued weeping in her hospital bed. Her amethyst eyes looked much duller than he had ever seen them before. He knew Judy. He knew that she would make herself completely responsible for everything that happened even though none of this was her fault.

The fox knew what he needed to do.

For his partner.

He slowly pushed himself up from his bed, the pain in his chest and gut roaring out at him to stop. Twisting on the bed, he lowered his feet over the side. Nick pushed out a large breathe of air, then lowered himself over the edge.

He had forgotten about his dislocated shoulder.

His eyes widened as his arms buckled beneath his weight, dropping him to the floor like a rock. He yipped in pain, falling onto his side with his bruised ribs. Nick sucked in a large gulp of air to prevent himself from screaming in pain, his eyes already tearing up.

This is a stupid idea, his mind warned him. Just stay in your bed, Judy can tough this out.

Nick grimaced at the thought, shaking it away quickly. His partner needed him, and with her mind tuning out everyone and everything, there was only one way to get to her.

His shoulder groaned in displeasure and he was sure he heard several pops in it as he pushed himself to a sitting position on the floor. He shoved the ache building in his abs aside and painfully pulled himself towards Judy's bed. It took him nearly a minute to compose himself enough in order to push himself up and back on his feet.

For his friend.

Nick's legs wobbled under his weight as he finally pulled himself up enough to see over the side of Judy's bed, panting heavily and trying not to growl in pain. It was only two feet from the floor to the top of the bed, only half his height yet it seemed like an un-climbable mountain before him. All of his muscles were screaming in protest and for a moment he began questioning his sanity.

Slowly, painfully, and with several grunts of pain, he pushed himself up. He needed to be there for her.

For Judy.

\------------------

This is all your fault.

Judy recognized a large blue and black blur kneeling next to her bed. The voices called out to her again.

You killed a mammal in cold blood.

The large blur disappeared and again, the voices returned.

You're not worthy of being an officer. You're a killer, not a cop.

Different voices flooded Judy's mind, tearing it apart as easily as a boat crashing against rocks in a storm. They beat upon her mind...torturing her already distraught mind.

Why did you think a bunny like yourself could become a cop.

What crazy world are you living in that where you think a bunny could become a cop.

I'm a killer...

She knew she was weeping. She could feel her chest tightening in short spasms as she tried to gulp in painful breaths of air between sobs but there was nothing she could do. She had been the cause of the ram's death. His final moments playing in her mind on an eternal repeat. The ram knocking her across the road. Her seeing Nick clawing his way out of the dumpster. Her sprinting towards him.

If she simply had stayed put under that truck Nick had pushed her under, the ram would still be alive.

It was all her fault.

A soft voice worked its way through the deluge flooding her mind.

Nick would be dead if you hadn't moved. A life for a life, which do you prefer having alive?

The soft voice seemed to halt the other voices in her mind. The endless torrent seemed to pause.

Nick would be dead if I hadn't of left.

Nick only pushed her under the car to protect her, risking his own life to keep hers safe. Everything that followed was because her partner cared enough for her to put her life ahead of his own. The thoughts in her mind seemed to calm just a fraction, yet still kept her body trapped in a paralysis of anguish and despair. She followed the new line of thought, embracing it like a small glimmer of light in a darkened room.

He had tried to pull her away from the ram before anything had even begun.

The shove under the car was to protect her.

His plan at trapping the ram...

Her mind spun at the thought. It had gone so perfectly until that one moment. That one fleeting second where time seemed to stop.

Everything he had done, was to protect her...

...and it made her feel even more horrible for what happened. His feelings for her caused him to do what he did. The realization hit her like a charging elephant.

He put everything on the line for her. His former life, his career, his reputation...all for her.

A new wave of grief hit her. She had nearly lost him because he cared for her as his friend.

Suddenly her thoughts were disrupted as the bed under her jostled. Her mind raced at what might be happening when she felt something soft gently lifting her up.

Her racing mind released its hold on her body and she finally looked up.

Straight into the emerald eyes and warm smile of her partner.

"Judy, it's ok. I'm right here...we'll get through this together."

His arms wrapped around her petite frame, enveloping her in an affectionate hug. The voices taunting her seemed to dissipate into nothingness at his touch. She leaned in deeper against his soft fur, the thick red pelt enveloping her.

Even at her darkest moments, he was there...

Her sobs started fresh, but this time, the fox could hear the slight difference between what had happened before and now. He felt as her arms slowly closed around his chest, her tears staining his hospital gown while he slowly rubbed her back with his free paw.

They sat there in silence for nearly an hour, the only sound being Judy's slowly quieting hiccups and sobs until there was just a comforting silence.

Judy finally found her voice through her tears. "I'm sorry..."she hiccupped, rubbing her muzzle against his chest.

"You have nothing to apologize for," came his muted reply. "If anyone needs to apologize, it's this dumb fox."

She raised her head from his chest. "Why?"

A hint of sadness crossed his face, but disappeared quickly as he saw she was staring at him. "I shouldn't have yelled at Bogo. I irked him into saying things that weren't true. My...my usual self seems to have caused you pain again."

He looked down at the ground for a moment, the memory of when they first met playing through his mind. Of him dousing her dreams of becoming a 'real cop'. He felt a small paw touch the bottom of his chin and his face slowly turned towards the rabbit in his arms. There was a hint of a smile tugging at her cheeks.

Nick sighed heavily, she needed to know.

"When the ram was chasing us towards the dumpster," if he could sweat, he was sure he would be doing so now. The temperature of the room seemed to shoot up as if he were standing in front of the giant heaters in Sahara Square. "I...I didn't just trip.

He took a moment to register the confusion on Judy's face. Well, here goes nothing I guess...

"The ram wasn't chasing us...it was chasing you," Nick began, watching Judy's reactions carefully. "I had looked back and noticed it was starting to swerve towards you instead of chasing both of us. I...I panicked."

He scratched at the back of his head sheepishly. "I did the only thing I could think of at the time, I yelled then tripped on purpose to see if that would distract him enough." Shrugging his shoulders sadly, while ignoring the wincing pain, "I guess it did. I know it was stupid but..." his eyes went towards hers again. "I wouldn't have been able to live with myself if he would have caught you."

Judy's mind was reeling. Nick, her closest friend, without any hesitation, had nearly given up his life...for her.

"Nick...I..."

"I know it was stupid," he interrupted, his fur turning a deepening crimson on his maw. "And I know that. I know you can handle yourself and that you always hate it when it seems like I'm coddling you at all. You aren't just a token bunny and you graduated top of your class and everything..."

Nick's ramblings stopped when he felt a paw placed over his mouth. Judy was now kneeling in front of him, her face just inches from his own.

"I understand why you did what you did."

His heart began to race and he hoped that Judy couldn't hear it beating so quickly. Even when they had been in the middle of a chewing out by Chief Bogo two months earlier, she had someone knew his pulse had quickened, and secretly put her hand over his to calm the fox down.

In a silent room like this, he knew she must have noticed.

A small part of him hoped she did.

"I know you are trying to comfort me, and make me feel like none of this was my fault," Judy spoke calmly. "I get it. I understand that. It's what you have always done for me." Judy tried to hide her face at the blush she knew was creeping onto it. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself before raising her head again. "Thank you for being yourself. For being such a dumb fox...and for looking out for me more than yourself."

Nick couldn't help but smile. "Anything for my sly bunny." Carefully moving his arm, he softly stroked back her ears, pausing to gently massage the tips, something he knew Judy loved after a long day.

She smiled warmly at him, then leaned forward, doing what Nick had thought in a thousand years she would never do.

Bringing her head up above his, she gently rubbed rubbed her chin against his cheek.

Nick must have died and gone to heaven as he realized his best friend was chinning him. One part of mind was screaming at him, ordering him to push her away. That what they were doing was not only unprofessional, but she was prey! And not only that, but a rabbit...and his best friend!

Judy moved lower, nuzzling his neck while letting out a quiet purring sound. His fur bristled and a chill went down his spine.

Oh sweet cheese and crackers did this feel good!

Nick was too stunned for words and he didn't know if it was simply the influence of the painkillers both were under or whatever else had caused Judy's behavior, but his body seemed to act instinctively whatever the case was. His arms closed around his friend, and he slowly began nuzzling her in return. All of his worries seemed to melt away in that one moment of bliss. A small part of his mind was in full panic mode, imploring him to stop everything in case the door would open at any moment.

He told that part of his mind to go to Tundratown.

Judy may not have known how intimate nuzzling was for a fox...no, forget that, he reasoned. Judy always seemed to be one surprising him with what she found out or knew. There was a reason she graduated with top marks at the academy and while her street smarts still were lacking in many regards when it came to the shadier parts of the city, she always seemed to have a trick up her paw.

The two nuzzled for a while in complete bliss until after several minutes Nick gently pulled away. Judy looked up at him, her amethyst eyes questioning his emerald ones. He lowered his muzzle, gently rubbing his nose on her.

"I'll always be here for you Carrots," Nick whispered. "I'll always watch out for my cottontail."

She smiled.

"I guess it is in our biology to look out for each other."

Nick chuckled at the intended pun. "Sly bunny."

"Dumb fox," she finished for him as the two of them held each other close. They stayed like that for several minutes, enjoying the peace that had settled over the room.

"We'll find the animals who did this to us," Nick said gently as, Judy burrowed deeper into his arms. "Just make me a promise, ok Carrots?"He could feel her nod into his chest to his slight amusement. "Don't go blaming yourself for this anymore, alright?"

He felt a momentary pause from the rabbit in his arms, before her head slowly moved up and down. Smiling, he leaned back into the mountain of pillows behind him, holding his friend in his arms. It was a feeling like no other, and for some reason, Nick was wishing it would never end. He could hear her breathing slowing, then fall into a gentle pattern as she slipped away into a hopefully dream filled slumber. He felt his own eyelids closing, and drifted off into the first good sleep in a very long time.

\-----------

A tired looking Gnu, a long time nurse, was making the rounds from room to room, quickly checking on the patients inside and logging the vitals of each before making a hasty exit. After nine long hours he was ready to head for home, turn on some Clawflix and chill, as the phrase went. Only one room remained before she could leave and was the one he was most interested in as well.

He nodded at the ZPD officer standing in front of the door, waving his clipboard as the panther opened the door for him. He quickly ducked inside, closing the door behind him.

He glanced at the two beds, noticing one was empty and the other seemed to be fuller than the last time he had come in to check up on these patients. He carefully walked around the beds, his hooves making soft clopping sounds on the tile. He smirked when he was finally facing the two mammals slumbering peacefully, smiles spread wide across their faces.

He glanced quickly back at the door, then took a small phone out of his pocket and brought it up in front of him. The phone clicked once and the gnu pocketed it as quickly as he had brought it out. Logging the data on the machines next to the rabbits' bed, he walked back over to the door, slowly opening it.

"So, how are they in there?" the panther asked as the door opened.

"See for yourself," the Gnu chuckled back before heading off to the nearby check in to log out for the day.

The panther took a quick peek into the room and smiled before the antelope slowly turned and walked back out the door, a smile etched from cheek to cheek.

Officer Felix couldn't help but stand at the open door for a minute, a rare smile gracing his face. The two patients were nestled onto one bed, with Judy nearly being encompassed by the larger fox in a protective embrace, his tail acting as a blanket for the smaller mammal. Both were fast asleep and seemed to be quite blissful about the sleeping arrangements. He took a quick sniff of the air, a musky scent hitting his nostrils as well as a softer aroma.

He chuckled. Those two have it bad for each other...he mused, shutting the door gently.

The offcier whipped out his cell phone and dialed a number he knew all too well. It rang several times before a happy, peppy voice could be heard on the other end.

"Officer Clawhauser, it's Officer Felix." The panther smiled as the voice on the other end greeted him with an insane amount of vigor. "Tell Officer Higgins he owes me $20."

He pressed the end call button, suddenly no longer minding what he thought was going to be a tedious and boring shift.


	7. Doctor's Orders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy and Nick are nigh inseparable, and have become standard bearers for peace between predator and prey in Zootopia. Though with a high profile in the ZPD, they have become high profile targets themselves. If the evil that looms in the dark recesses of the city manages to tear their relationship apart, will the rest of Zootopia crumble with it?

The morning light filtered into the room through the semi-closed blinds, hitting the two mammals in the nearby bed. The hustle and bustle of an awakening city seeped into the room, the sounds of cars honking and voices greeting each other signaled the start of another day like any other.

A large grey ear twitched at the sounds coming in from the window. The bunny they belonged to mumbled incoherently as her ears continued to tremble. She rotated over to her side, placing her paws over her ears to drown out the noise that had interrupted such a wonderful dream. She curled more tightly into her sheets, trying to remember the details of her dream. She had been walking down the lane outside of her home in Bunnyburrow, Nick at her side...just walking, nothing more. It was just so blissful.

Judy smiled, jostling herself into a more comfortable position. For some reason her sheets felt a lot softer than she remembered from last night.

And what had happened last night. Or was it last afternoon? All these pain pills were making her loopy she mused.

Still, she couldn't figure out why the bed was just so comfortable. She grabbed at what she thought was the edge of the blanket and tried to pull it over her.

She definitely didn't remember the blanket being that soft. She cracked her eyes open slightly, the morning glare from the sun playing havoc on her vision.

And that's when the blanket moved.

Judy's eye shot open instantly as she spied a familiar red and amber tail swishing slightly out of reach. The memory of the previous night burst through the drug induced haze and Judy suddenly saw the large form of another mammal in her bed.

Oh sweet cheese and crackers!

Judy's instincts took over faster than reason and she did the only thing she naturally would do when finding someone else in bed with her.

She kicked...hard.

\---------------

The population sign in Bunnyburrow amused him to no end. Nick glanced up at the sign, watching the numbers tick quickly up. For how many millions of rabbits lived in this place, it never seemed like a bustling bunny-tropolis and he rarely saw many rabbits out and about. Thy must be in their burrows or fields...he mused. He didn't give the idea much thought as he was too happily distracted by other things.

Nick looked down at his side, a smaller grey paw held in his own. The rabbit at his side smiled up at him as they walked along the road, stepping off the beaten track and onto a small dirt path winding up a hill. Reaching the crest, they sat down beneath a large oak tree, admiring the view of Judy's quaint little hometown. Judy snuggled into Nick's side as he reached around her, pulling her nearly onto his lap.

He looked tenderly down at the rabbit next to him, both of them smiling. Without warning, Judy's smile turned...her eyes widening in shock as she fell onto her back, trying to crawl away from the reynard.

"What's wrong?" He was beginning to panic as he began to rise. Her legs curled up into her body as he reached down for her then as he reached out to her, Judy's legs shot forward...

\------------

"Gah!" Nick was forcefully awakened from his peaceful slumber as two hind paws caught his side, propelling his body shockingly fast both upwards and sideways. The pain was excruciating and, unfortunately for him, the bed wasn't nearly large enough to accommodate his new found, bunny-propelled, morning flight path. Judy saw a blur of red and white fur topple off the bed, landing with a dull thud on the cold tile floor of the hospital room...right onto his shoulder.

He swore that his scream could have been heard back in Bunnyburrow.

"I'm so sorry Nick! Are you ok!" Judy had slid off the bed, hovering over the fox, panic in her eyes. Nick nodded with a whimper as tears stung the corner of his eyes. She mentally was kicking herself over and over again as her partner as the memories of last night began trickling through her drug induced torpor. "I'm so...so sorry." Her eyes were starting to gloss over, her paws hovering over his body, afraid she would further injure her friend.

"It's ok Carrots," he wheezed, clutching at his shoulder as the door to their hospital room burst open. "I'm fine...don't worry."

Two orderlies and a nurse flooded into the room followed closely by Officer Felix. At first they were perplexed to see the beds both empty, until a small grey paw appeared from between the two cots. They sprinted over and found Judy trying to help Nick up to his paws, the latter with a huge grimace and pain filled expression.

"What happened?" boomed one of the orderlies, a male wolf as he went over and picked up the amber fox in his paws, setting him gently back onto his own bed.

"Well...um, I..." Judy really didn't want to tell him what had happened. A slight blush began to creep up below her fur as she stumbled for an answer with the wolf looking at her expectantly. Oh muttonchops...

"I had a bad dream and scared myself out of bed."

Judy looked over at Nick who had a tight lipped grimace plastered on his maw. He hissed when the other orderly, a auburn deer moved his body into a more comfortable position, though managed to graze his stomach with her hoof. Nick winked at Judy, and a wave of relief flooded her mind. She would have to thank him later once every other mammal had left the room. The nurse helped Judy hop back into her own bed, asking her if she needed anything before turning towards the door as the orderlies did the same for Nick. The reynard joked about having a new shoulder which received a few chuckles from the wolf and a disappointed glare from the nurse before the three left them to themselves. Officer Felix stood by the door with a grin. The panther chuckled softly and Judy swore she heard him say something about must be a first lover's quarrel before heading out the door.

The rabbit grabbed her ears and pulled them over her face with a groan. Apparently Officer Felix had checked on them at some point during the night. The blush began racing its way up her ears, turning them from a light pink to a deep crimson. She glanced at Nick who was settling into his bed, wincing slightly as he placed a brand new ice pack one of the orderlies had left onto his strained abs. She hoped he hadn't heard what he had said...

"Don't you worry Carrots, Felix is a tight lipped mammal. I'm sure he won't say a word about our new relationship status."

Nick laughed as Judy's mouth dropped open, her eyes widening into saucers. "You heard that!"

"Of course. I'm closer to the door than you and he didn't necessarily say it quietly. "

"Oh sweet cheese and crackers!" Jumped dropped back onto her pillows, pulling her ears back over her head in an effort to hide herself from the world.

"Not to worry, he's only close friends with Clawhauser back at the station so nobody will hear about a certain fox and bunny sharing a bed."

She slowly turned to face her partner, a look of exasperated horror on her face as Nick grinned slyly at her.

"Chief is going to fire us for this."

"He won't fire us," came the reply, his tone calming as he looked directly into Judy's eyes. "If anything, it was the painkillers inhibiting our actions." He put a paw up as Judy's was about to speak. "Second, we didn't do anything against ZPD code as we are technically off duty, and I was only comforting you after a horrible, tragic event."

Judy's mind calmed slightly. Maybe Felix had only seen Nick trying to comfort her during the night. She knew that several of the officers at the precinct had been gossiping about the two of them lately for being as close as they were. She was still trying to figure out who the prankster was who had left the note on the chair they shared in the bullpen that read, Mr. and Mrs. Wilde on it. Nick had chuckled at that one, but it had absolutely infuriated the grey rabbit. Especially when Nick had described it as 'cute'.

Maybe I am overreacting a bit...

"Of course you're overreacting Carrots."

She glanced over at Nick, who seemed to have read her mind.

"You bunnies, always so emotional."

A retort formed on her lips when the door clicked and opened. An otter dressed in a doctor's coat shuffled in, climbing up onto a nearby stool near Nick's bed. "Good morning, I'm doctor Lutrinae and I'll be in charge over you two while you are here in the hospital." Both rabbit and fox nodded at the smiling otter as he busily opened up the manila folder in his paw.

"So, doctor Lutrinae," Judy smiled. "When will we be able to leave as we have a very important case we need to solve and..."

"Slow down there Officer Hopps." Lutrinae laughed. "I'm afraid that with the injuries you both sustained we'll need to keep you both here a while.

Judy's smile dropped. "Oh...how long?"

The otter shook his head, flipping a few of the pages in his folder. "Well, you seem to be the luckier of the two Ms Hopps. The worst was your ruptured appendix, which, if you keep to a lighter schedule, you should be out of here in a week, and back to normal function in two."

"As for Mr. Wilde over here," the otter readjusted his glasses. "It appears that with your severe abdominal strain and bruised ribs, it will be at least a week and a half of bed rest, then only desk duty for the following two weeks. If, and only if, you keep off your paws." The fox nodded solemnly while suppressing a groan while Judy actually did.

Three weeks! Judy thought. The trail on this case of whatever had happened to that ram would have gone completely cold by then. "Is there any way we could be released sooner?" she pleaded.

"I'm sorry," Lutrinae replied. "It would go against my better judgment to have you stay any shorter. And the timetable I gave you is if both of you follow doctor's counsel to the letter. I would much rather have you both here for at least two weeks minimum but," he frowned, "apparently Chief Bogo doesn't want to be without the two of you for that long. He wants you back on this newest case as soon as possible."

Judy's mind went directly back to the ram at the mention of the case as her ears began to droop.

Doctor Lutrinae hopped off his stool, dropping his folder on top of it as he walked over to Judy's bedside, taking her paw in his. "His name was Mr. Shepherd." he paused looking into her eyes. "If it helps, he most likely had no cognitive ability to reason on his own under the affects of whatever drug he was on. That and the high amount of the drug in his system would have killed him within a few moments without being struck. You are not to blame at all for what happened, as tragic as it was. It was the overdose that killed him."

Shepherd...so that was his name. Judy was somber as the doctor patter her paw, giving her a reassuring look as he went back to his stool and grabbed his folder, turning towards the door.

"Doctor, a moment?" Lutrinae turned to Nick, a quizzical look on his muzzle as he nodded. "I know my friend Carrots here would go absolutely stark raving mad if she was cooped up in here without anything to do for a week." Nick continued, ignoring the glare shot his direction. "Is there a way that we could have our work computers and materials brought here. I promise we will be the best patients possible and I'll keep her from doing anything crazy if that happens."

Judy's glared quickly melted as she glanced from Nick to the doctor with the best pleading look she could muster.

Doctor Lutrinae sighed as he adjusted his glasses and rubbed his forehead. "I'll make a request to the ZPD to have your supplies brought here. Only on the condition that you follow my treatment plan to the letter with no deviations." Both mammals nodded, a smirk forming on Nick's muzzle that Judy remembered so well from the first time she met him at Jumbeaux's Café a little over a year earlier.

"Thank you so much Doctor, from the bottom of my heart," Nick replied, his voice soft and friendly. "We will be the best patients you have ever had if this happens."

"You better be," the doctor declared as he walked through the open door. "Remember, to the letter!" he grumbled over his shoulder as he left, closing the door behind him and leaving the two officers to themselves for a second time that morning.

"Sly fox," Judy quipped as Nick smiled lazily at her. "Thank you for doing that. I would have gone crazy if I had to sit here for a week doing nothing." She fell back onto her pillow, her side aching a little as she felt the stitches under her hospital gown.

"I did it for myself," Nick joked. "I'm pretty sure they would have had to send me to Cliffside after just two days of you being bored to tears in here."

Nick found his vision blur into white as a pillow thumped into his face.

"Dumb fox."

Nick could only smile.

'You know you love me..."

Judy glanced at him, "Do I know that? Yes, yes I do."

Quiet filled the room again for a few moments as sentences tried to form themselves in Judy's mind.

"Thank you again for covering me this morning...and last night." She spoke softly, her amethyst eyes focused on her paws fidgeting in her lap.

"Anything for you Judy," came the reply and a smile from Nick. "Besides, remember what I taught you? Can't let them see that they get to you."

She smiled as she noticed he went back to examining the paintings of different parts of Zootopia on the walls of their room. If she looked hard enough, she could almost make out her home near the far corner of the room.

Both slipped into a peaceful quiet between the two after that, though inside both of their heads their minds were running faster than a cheetah at the Furlympics.

After a while, she felt as if she was being watched. She turned to Nick and saw him turn quickly away back to studying the unique wallpaper of the room. Even in the mid-morning light, she could tell his fur seemed to be a bit more red than she remembered it. She felt a blush creep up into her ears again as she turned away to hide it from him.

You know you love me...

She pondered the statement for several minutes as she went over the events that had transpired the night before. It was a statement that they had bantered back and forth since they became partner nearly six months ago.

Six months...

She was starting to wonder if there was more to Nick's pithy statement than just a snarky witticism he had coined just for her.

Secretly, ...she was beginning to hope that was true.


	8. Where are our leads?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy and Nick are nigh inseparable, and have become standard bearers for peace between predator and prey in Zootopia. Though with a high profile in the ZPD, they have become high profile targets themselves. If the evil that looms in the dark recesses of the city manages to tear their relationship apart, will the rest of Zootopia crumble with it?

It had taken three days. Three, long, miserable, anxious days of waiting and Nick could tell that Judy's poor nerves were becoming more frazzled with each passing hour it took for Bogo to approve them to work from the hospital. At one point, to Nick astonishment, Judy had become so annoyed at the back and forth arguing between them and the doctors that she purposely started speaking like a sloth whenever they would enter the room with more paperwork and legal issues to resolve. Nick had been quite impressed...and somewhat disturbed as well. Though he did know one thing of her impression.

Flash would have been proud of her.

The last straw on the bunny's back was when she was arguing with the communications officer from Precinct one and during the argument, the bear, a sergeant by the name of Hiberton, chuckled and said she looked so cute when she was angry.

Judy needed seven stitches replaced the incident as she had chased him from the room trying to show him what 'cute' was. Bogo had stormed into the room less than a half hour after the incident, ready to chew the rabbit's ears off but one look at her silenced the water buffalo. The Chief had simply closed his mouth, turned around, and walked out of the room.

Nick was starting to become a bit fearful if Judy was stuck in the hospital any longer without anything to do and the annoying hassles of paperwork, there might not be a hospital left after she was through with it.

Even the frequent visit from other officers, the dozens of get well cards from Clawhauser, the bouquets of flowers brought in and the friendliness of the hospital staff treating them failed to improve his partner's mood. Though Nick had been quite amused by the fact that Judy seemed to have taken a fancy at nibbling on the lilacs that were brought in for them. It was the only thing that seemed to calm her at moments and he had secretly told Clawhauser to bring more if he could.

For how shocking it was at first, Nick had taken it in stride. Must be a rabbit thing he merely thought, though with how irritated Judy had become there was no way he would say that out loud.

Finally, six long days of being in the hospital with the restless bunny, Bogo had relented to their requests and had personally brought in their work laptops, files on the ram and all information about the case as well as a liaison officer assigned to them 24/7 in case they found something. Judy's squeal of joy was probably heard all the way to Mr. Bigs front door and Nick actually had winced in pain at how high pitched the sound was. He wished he had his phone on him to catch a picture of her smile at that moment as it was a image he would treasure forever. The sun was shining directly onto her, spotlighting her from behind and seemed to form a halo of joy around her body with her eyes gleaming from the joy of the moment.

He had also suddenly felt a twinge of longing...that at some point, he could someday make her that happy as well.

The moment passed quickly though as Bogo had given them only five days with the computers and files as he regarded it as a waste of precinct resources. Nick had gleaned from eavesdropping on the officers standing guard outside their room that the ZPD had all but declared it an open and shut case. With the toxicology reports showing the ram had been high on Caninebus, an extremely potent drug being sold in the back alleys of Sahara Square to make mammals hallucinate and become aggressive, it had simply been ruled as an overdose and sent to records.

Nick recognized an animal under the influence of Caninebus though...as well as a mammal under the influence of nighthowlers.

To him, the case was still wide open and Judy was even firmer in the belief than he was.

The five days they were given would have been more than enough for them to figure out what had truly happened. Yet fate seemed to conspire against them at nearly every turn. Doctor Lutrinae had only approved a total of four hours a day they could work, the rest had to be used to rest, physical therapy and to recuperate from their injuries.

Judy's soul was crushed.

Nick had finally convinced her that it was for the best and that within a few days, she would be released from the hospital's care and could focus on the case 24 hours a day if she wanted to. Plus, the doctor had said that they could only work on the case for four hours, but didn't have any restrictions on talking about it. Besides, the sooner they were released, the sooner they could be back at the precinct and work on this as long as they wanted while on desk duty until they were cleared for active duty again.

Nick loved the smile she had given him. Less so the punch to his then throbbing arm in her excitement. Someday he really needed to let her know how much stronger she was than she thought she was.

With all the complications aside, they dug into their study of the evidence like Clawhauser into a box of donuts. The first two days passed by in a frenzied blur of research, reviewing evidence and then once their four hours were up, talking deep into the night about what had occurred. By day three, Nick was beginning to become worried. They had still found zero leads into their hunch, and the worry about the lack of evidence was beginning to show on his friends face.

Currently, Judy was staring at the computer screen on the portable desk that sat over her bed. Her eyes flickered from one screen to another as she watched several feeds from street cameras in the vicinity of the accident. Nick glanced at her, heaving a heavy sigh as he closed the screen open on his own computer, the toxicology report that the doctors had issued. They had agreed at the beginning that Nick would go over the paperwork side while she could view the traffic cams and history of the ram. By three days in though,they were both exhausted after every lead going nowhere.

The fox let out a weary sigh. "You find anything new Carrots?"

There was silence for about a minute before Nick repeated the question. He glanced at his partner, who looked completely immersed into her computer screen. He coughed loudly, which seemed to startle her out of her daze. Her eyes shot up and she quickly looked at him. "Find something?"

Nick chuckled. "I thought you were good at listening with those ears of yours Carrots. I just asked you that."

Her ears flopped back behind her head as her cheeks heated up. He heard a slight oh as she she went back to staring at her computer.

"Not yet..."

She groaned, rubbing her paws across her eyes and down her ears. "I know that there is more to this than just a simple overdose." Nick nodded as Judy continued. "We both know what we saw, and we both know that Mr. Shepherd was under the influence of nighthowlers. I just can't seem to find anything to support it." She sighed, flopping back onto the stack of pillows behind her. "I know it's there but..."

"You just can't seem to find it," Nick finished for her. The rabbit nodded. Nick stared at the several open screens on his own computer. He had been going through the ram's bank records, shopping habits, where he worked, even going as far as looking up relatives that might have been in any trouble with the law and nothing had popped up as peculiar to the reynard. Maybe there just wasn't anything else to this case. Glancing over at Judy who was staring up at the ceiling, her mind lost in her thoughts, he had to at least consider that point.

Maybe it was because of their first case together, where Judy had hustled him into solving the missing mammals case, but the two of them always looked so deeply into every case they came across. Some of their theories actually proved to be true while others lead to nowhere.

Nick at least had to consider the option that this fell under the second category.

"Maybe," Nick figured he had to choose his words carefully. The last thing he wanted to do was to depress his friend anymore than she already was. "Maybe we are looking too deeply into this." Her head jerked to face his, her lavender eyes questioning him. He quickly continued as she opened her mouth. "Maybe this whole thing is just an open and shut case, but not in the way we think it is."

One of Judy's eyebrows arched. "Go on..."

"We've been looking at this as someone intentionally drugging this poor ram and then letting him loose on the city. What if this was simply an overdose on nighthowlers that the ram already had. So far we haven't found any evidence of foul play and nobody coming in or out of his apartment. This report," Nick picked up a folder next to his bed labeled evidence, "shows that he had a midnicampum holicithias in his room with all the petals gone off of it. I know about this Caninebus drug and it will give you the munchies like that." Nick snapped two of his claws together. "What if he simply overdosed, ate the plant and went nuts."

Judy was a bit stunned by what Nick had said. Honestly she hadn't even considered the idea until now. She had overlooked the details of what was in the room as she was more focused on the video recordings and other digital records of the case that happened outside the apartment. It did make sense though. If the ram had already been high and eaten the plant, that would explain a lot, though...

"That still wouldn't explain why he leapt out the window." Judy put a paw to her chin, rubbing her fur, deep in thought. After a moment Nick began to chuckle as a soft thumping came from near her foot under her blankets, which was moving quickly. She stared at him confused, until he pointed to her foot and she sheepishly grinned. "Sorry, can't help it. Though, could I see that file for a second?" She put her paw out towards him.

Nick passed the file over obediently and Judy began to peruse the pictures inside. For several minutes Nick watched her, the rabbits expression unreadable as she digested page after page. Once she hit the pictures of the apartment, she stopped. A sly grin quickly appeared on her face.

"Ooo, Nick, I hate to disagree with you," she laughed coyly, "but take a look at the corner of the room near the dresser that the plant is sitting on." She passed the folder back over to him as he pulled it closer to his eyes, his snout nearly touching the photograph.

"That's dirt Officer Fluff," Nick chuckled, "I thought since you came from a family where plant husbandry was kind of a big deal you'd know that." She rolled her eyes then hopped over to his bed. The doctors had placed the beds directly side by side after Nick had "fallen out" of his a few days ago. She kneeled across his arm, pointing out where the dirt was.

"Har har, but seriously Nick. How much dirt do you see..." He glanced back at the photo.

"Quite a bit. What's your point?" The gears in Nick's mind were starting to turn. He knew she was getting at something but just couldn't connect the dots yet.

"The only way that much dirt would be on the floor is if the plant had been knocked over." Judy has the most satisfied grin on her face he had ever seen.

His eyes widened as the dots finally connected.

"You're a sly bunny, you know that?"

"Yes, yes I do." she laughed as Nick scratched at his muzzle.

"This means the plant had been knocked over at some point in the day..." Nick looked to Judy, her smile widening. "When we have seen nobody enter or exit the building from the videotapes. And clearly Mr Shepherd was no where near cognizant enough to notice a knocked over plant."

Nick was enjoying where this was going and Judy was looking more encouraged than she had in days.

"And how would an animal in the midst of a nighthowler frenzy," she began, "be able to put a plant back up on that dresser..."

"Unless someone else placed it there..." Nick finished for her. The grey bunny nodded.

"Someone else had to have been in that apartment." Nick grinned. "I think maybe we should switch what we are focusing on, eh Carrots? I'll take the surveillance video while you take the files as you seem to be better with with this picture book than me with this novel." She punched him lightly on his shoulder, luckily the uninjured one.

The pair shuffled the folders and laptops between each other as they situated themselves into their new roles. Judy began scouring through the case files as Nick opened several new windows on Judy's computer from the street cameras. They were nearing the four hour deadline for the day and Judy was hoping that their doctor would be stalled or have an emergency come up so that he couldn't berate them for going over their time limit. Nearly 30 minutes passed with nothing more spoken between them when a deep laugh came from the red fox.

"Got him!"

"What?" Judy exclaimed "Who?"

Nick turned the computer to face her. "See for yourself. Bottom left camera." He pointed at the small screen which he quickly expanded to fill the entire screen.

Judy stared at the video as Nick hit the play button. All Judy saw was an empty street with only two antelope walking down the sidewalk before entering the diner he and Judy had eaten at. She had viewed this dozens of times already and seen nothing before.

"There's nothing here Nick, I've seen this a dozen times..."

"Wait for it." he interjected with a smile as Judy growled at him. The two continued watching the video until Nick's grin widened. "And now!"

He paused the video, with nothing on the screen. She glared at her partner.

"Seriously?"

"Now don't get your cute cottontail in a twist," he purred, chuckling as Judy's left eye twitched and her paw clenched. He scratched her ears to ease the tension in the room as she swatted at his paw with a smile. "Look at the time stamp."

He was quite grateful as he paw un-clenched and she turned to the small date and time marked in the corner. "7:29:45pm," she read off the time, turning back to glare at the fox who still had that obnoxious smile on his face. "That was right before we arrived at the diner."

"Now watch the next time stamp," Nick pressed a button on the computer, which should have sent the frame to 7:29:46pm.

It should have at least.

"7:30:15pm." Nick handed the laptop over into Judy's awaiting paws as he leaned back onto his own mess of pillows, satisfied with the bewildered expression on her face.

"Someone messed with the cameras," Judy exclaimed, her voice rising in excitement. Nick smiled at her.

"That's not all either Carrots." He pointed towards a small clothing stand next to the diner. "Look at the mirror." Judy dutifully obliged and stared at the object. "Someone edited the video to exclude something from our view. It wasn't enough of a time difference for those at the station to notice as they watch everything in fast forward to use less time or some other nonsense." At this point Nick was grinning from ear to ear. "However, they only edited it enough to put the object out of view of the camera...not the reflection from that mirror."

While the rest of the frame showed nothing of interest, the mirror was positioned just so that it caught a reflection of a dark object just out of view of the camera. Nick leaned over Judy, pressing a few buttons to magnify the mirror in the video feed. He put his paws behind his head and settled back into the pillow.

As clear as the sun was in the sky, the reflection from the mirror showed the tail end of a car passing by the stand...

...as well as the license plate for the vehicle.

Judy was beyond thrilled. "Nick, you sly fox!" The laptop nearly spilt onto the ground as she leapt from her bed. Ignoring the slight discomfort from where she'd had surgery on her side, she wrapped her partner in a tight hug. The reynard chuckled, putting his own arm around his partner, quite enjoying her sudden outburst of emotion.

"Am I a sly fox? Yes, yes I am." he stated as she leaned out of the hug and he grimaced. "Are you standing on my stomach, yes, yes you are."

Judy's eyes widened and she quickly leapt off of Nick's injured abdominal region causing him to yelp slightly.

"Sorry..." came her muffled reply as her ears lowered behind her head and she felt a blush creeping up her cheeks.

"Am I interrupting something Officers?"

Both Nick and Judy turned towards the new voice, surprised at someone else being in the room. Chief Bogo stood in the doorframe, his usually annoyed expression on his face yet his eyes showed a little...was it bemusement at the scene in front of him.

"Yes...I mean, no!" Judy squeaked as she tried to hide her excitement. "Sir, I think we have the break in the case we've been looking for."

The water buffalo glared at her, folding his arms across his chest. "And...what would that be Officer Hopps?"

"Sir, we just found that the video of just before the incident has been edited and that some other mammal had been in Mr. Shepherd's room."

A single raised eyebrow was all the reaction she got from the Chief. She hemmed hesitantly when Nick chimed in. "What Officer Hopps here is saying sir, is that someone staged the apartment to look like a simply overdose and the time stamp on this video," Nick raised the laptop towards the Chief, "shows a nearly 30 second gap in the film coverage. We were also able to attain a license plate from a reflection in the mirror here." Nick pointed towards the full length mirror near the diner.

"So..." Bogo snorted, a hoof raising to his chin.

"So..." Judy picked up quickly. "That means some animal out there is trying to hide a car from being seen in this area. I'm sure if the tech guys in the precinct take a closer look at the time stamps on nearby camera's they will find the same discrepancy. If they can find the missing timeframe, we find the car. We find the car, we find our mammal who drugged Mr Shepherd."

Bogo's glare never faltered as he glanced from officer to officer, their smiles slowly fading with each passing second of silence. Behind his stony glare, however, he was actually impressed. Somehow, even while injured and on bed rest his two smallest and newest officers had managed to find evidence of foul play that every other officer at his disposal had missed. With each case he handed this pair, he was becoming quickly aware of why they had graduated with such honors at the academy.

Of course he couldn't let them know he was impressed, that would ruin his image.

"So what you both are saying is that all the detectives, investigators and other officers who studied this incident thoroughly reached the wrong conclusion."

What was left of Judy's smile wilted. Luckily Nick was feeling slightly snarky still. Somehow, whenever Chief grilled them on anything, especially when it came to him challenging Judy, he seemed to grow a bit bolder. It just felt like the natural thing to do.

"Yes, that is exactly what we are saying Chief. If you want, we could teach them a few tricks of the trade to get them up to speed on solving cases."

Bogo angrily snorted at the fox who lazily smiled back before continuing. "Now Chief, if you'd like I have a friend at the DMV who would love to help you in finding that plate for us as we appear to still be stuck in this charming establishment. I could give you his number for you to call as that would be a better use of precinct time than sending this case back to headquarters."

Bogo stomped over to Nick's bed to throttle the fox when they heard someone ahem behind them all.

"Well, it seems like everyone is back to their old selves aren't they. For better or worse and all that."

All three mammals turned to see a slightly peeved off otter standing behind the water buffalo. Doctor Lutrinae shuffled into the room, opening a manila folder as he climbed atop a nearby stool, ignoring the glare from Bogo, the mortified look from Judy and the lazy smile from Nick. After several moments he closed the folder with a slightly amused expression.

"I see that you both are taking my advice on staying relaxed and keeping your movements limited." Both Nick and Judy coughed nervously as the rabbit moved back to her own bed and lay down. The doctor chuckled at their reaction. Even if they don't want to admit it themselves, there is something going between them...he mused."Actually, I'm quite glad to see that you are up and moving about. At least for Judy here, according to the nurses treating you, they all say that you could be cleared to leave at anytime starting today." He ignored her grin as he continued, "As long as you don't try and go tearing open any more stitches taking on bears of course."

Bogo slapped a hoof over his face with a drawn out sigh. He had almost forgotten about Officer Hiberton and the mess of paperwork that had entailed. The doctor turned his attention to the reynard.

"As for you Mr. Wilde, even though you have been following my counsel nearly to the letter for the past week, and have had a remarkable recovery considering the state of your injuries, I could not in good conscious clear you to leave for at least another four days, and that's if I feel you could be discharged at that point." The foxes ears lowered and Lutrinae couldn't help but notice the same effect on Nick's partner. "Your abdominal strain and bruised ribs are still affecting you..." he put a paw up as Nick opened his mouth, "don't start with me Nick, I know pain in someone's eyes when I see it after 25 years here. I'm sorry, but, you'll have to stay here for a while longer until I feel you a healed enough to do basic work. Ms Hopps, you are free to leave whenever you wish."

Nick clamped his maw shut again, lowering his head. He thought he had hid the pain well during his therapy sessions. Even during the stretches he could only remember teansing up and hissing in pain once when his was asked to pick up a large medicine ball on the ground. His stomach muscles had angrily reminded him of his injuries at that point. He glanced over at Judy seeing the disappointed look in her eyes. "Guess you're a free bunny for a while, eh Carrots? Think you'll be able to live without me?"

Judy didn't know what to think, let alone respond to her partner. Her emotions were muddled together so much after Lutrinae's announcement. She stared into Nick's emerald eyes, her feelings twisting her thoughts into knots. She had been elated knowing that she could go back to work, even if it was just going to be on desk duty for a while. She could handle that. She had been hoping that Nick would have been able to be released early as well so they both could work together. Yet...

...she really didn't want to go back to work without him. The same expressions of pain she saw in his eyes was the same the doctor had seen after his therapy sessions. What the otter couldn't have known, were the whimpers of pain she would awake to at night coming from him when he shifted in his sleep. Or the stifled moans when he would bend or twist the wrong way while walking to the bathroom. Two nights ago she had awakened to his muffled cries after an intense therapy session and had tried to console him. He had waved her off, quickly wiping at his eyes, saying it was just a dream and he was feeling fine.

She had known better...the moonlight reflecting on his glossy eyes told her he was nowhere near being fit enough to leave.

Though she desperately wanted to believe otherwise. If she tried to work at the precint and him from the hospital, it would only make their workload harder and the information sharing nearly impossible as they would have to send a courier with the confidential files to the hospital as talking over the phone on such a private case would have been against department procedure. And as much as Nick was able to bend the rules, that particular rule was one even he didn't try to twist. There was no way they would be able to progress on this case if they had to resolve to sending couriers.

An idea sparked in her head...

Unless...

"Doctor Lutrinae, sir..."

The otter looked up expectantly at the rabbit officer. "Yes."

"Would you or the hospital mind at all if I could..." Judy pawed at her hands, feeling more awkward with every second, "stay here with Nick until he recovered? It would be easier for us to work on the case together that way," she turned to Bogo, "and would conserve department resources by saving an officer from being a courier with the files we'd need to send back and forth from her to headquarters. I know it would be a hassle for me to stay here, but...I think it might work out as the best option."

Lutrinae seemed to ponder her request, the pen in his hand idly tapping the manila folder on his lap. "Well, it is an odd request," he began, Judy growing more worried, "as usually we only allow family members to stay with their relatives in the hospital if there is no need for them here."

Judy felt her heart deflate as she looked over towards Nick. The Fox looked as dejected as she did, though he did manage to give her a slight grin as if already trying to help her to feel better from the coming rejection.

"However..."

Both mammals turned back to the doctor who appeared to be deep in thought.

"I agree with you that having you two separated would only complicate the investigation and could possibly hamper Mr. Wildes' recovery as it seems you have been quite helpful in forcing him to rest." He shot a quick glance at the fox who held his hands up in an expression of 'you caught me'. "I think we could make an exception for at least until Mr. Wilde has recovered. Does that sound fair to you Chief Bogo?"

All three smaller mammals were staring expectantly at the hooved mammal. He especially hated the look that Hopps was giving him at the moment. Wilde on the other hand, he just ignored the sly smile aimed up at him. Bogo already knew what his decision would be, though he wanted to make them worry for a bit more time. After the new leads they had discovered, it would be inexcusable for him to deny the request and hamper the now re-opened investigation. He was just as interested in seeing where this could lead as they were.

"I'll think about it," he finally huffed as he turned towards the door. He could almost feel the exasperation coming from his favorite officers as he cleared the threshold of the door, lowering his head so as to not clip the horns on the door frame. He turned at the last moment towards the doctor who was snickering at the whole scene as if he already knew what the larger mammal was doing. "If Officer Hopps wants to stay she can stay. I think I could allow that for a few days."

Judy's eyes gleamed.

"But!" Bogo cautioned, raising a hoof and smiling as he regained their attention. "I don't want to hear of anything untoward going on here. If I hear of another instance of stupidity or ill-conduct coming from either of you, I will take both of you from this case and assign you parking duty for the next two months."

He slightly enjoyed the looks he got from his officers. Expressions somewhere between horror and joy. He couldn't place it, but was grinning behind his scowl as he left the room.

Back inside, after the initial shock dissipated, Judy went through the required paperwork for her to stay in the room with Nick until he could fully heal which the doctor had mentioned would be at least another four days. With all the paperwork done, Judy collected some of her belongings, being told that her personal effects such as her phone would arrive later from the ZPD evidence locker. Taking a taxi back to her apartment, she loaded up a few changes of clothes for herself as well as her phone charger before heading back to the hospital. She really didn't want to be away from Nick for too long, plus, she would no longer be limited to just four hours of research a day and wanted to start following up on the leads she and Nick had found. Being able to stay there with him would certainly help with their investigation now that they had a lead of the license plate to track down.

By the time she arrived back at the hospital, it was nearly sunset; the oranges and reds casting an amber glow over the steel and cement structure. She finally reached the room, only to find it empty. She calmed the sudden rise of anxiety, reminding herself of Nick's nightly therapy session and felt a twinge of regret for the whole situation they were in. She pondered as to what could have happened if Nick hadn't of tripped on purpose. She may have been the one to have to be there for several extra weeks. Would Nick have made the same choice she had made?

She threw the doubt out of her mind. Of course he would have. They were a team, partners. Judy was positive if she was in the same position he had been, she would have done the exact same thing he had done. She spotted a plastic bag on the table near her old bed and walked over to it. Sure enough, her phone, wallet and other belongings were sealed tightly inside the marked bag. Opening the bag, taking out her effects before beginning to rummage through her suitcase. Finally finding the cord she was looking for, she plugged in her iCarrot phone and watched her screen power up.

A minute later she dropped her phone at the sight of nearly 197 missed messages, calls and muzzletime requests. As if on cue, the familiar sight of her parents appeared on her phone's screen with a new request. A look of horror covered her face.

Oh sweet cheese and crackers...


	9. Hey, it's my parents!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy and Nick are nigh inseparable, and have become standard bearers for peace between predator and prey in Zootopia. Though with a high profile in the ZPD, they have become high profile targets themselves. If the evil that looms in the dark recesses of the city manages to tear their relationship apart, will the rest of Zootopia crumble with it?

Nick hobbled back towards his room, the clicking of the crutch the only noise he paid attention to over the din in the hallway. His therapy had, sadly, not gone as smoothly as he had hoped. His ears twitched at the thought of what he had just gone through and the sound of the crutch hitting the tile was an all too familiar reminder of why he agreed with his doctor's observations earlier in the day about not being ready to be released yet.

Not that he liked it at all.

I don't know why they want me messing with that oversized kids' toy anyways...

Nick was sure that the medicine ball the doctor's were making him use to stretch out his core muscles was trying to kill him. He was sure that even Bellwether could take tips about being evil from that plastic sphere of death. At least his claws had finally slain the synthetic orb, one of them penetrating it, completely by accident of course, and he had taken great satisfaction in watching it deflate with a loud whooshing sound.

But oh no, he just had to go and kick it once it had deflated.

Which is why he now needed the crutch.

He finally reached his room, realizing his under-breath mutterings had propelled him much farther than he thought, either that or he just had wanted to be as far away from that medicine ball as he could be.

Oh cheese and crackers...he thought. They better not have an extra one lying around. Just the thought alone made a shiver go down his spine. Though he paused for another moment. Cheese and crackers? Since when did he start using Judy's toned down language, even in his head. Nick shook his head and laughed. The bunny was certainly affecting him in more ways than he realized

Nick shuddered as he pushed the door to his room open, wondering momentarily why the light was already on. He then saw her and his face dropped.

"Carrots?"

\--------------------------

They're coming in two days...

Judy stared blankly towards the lifeless, cream colored wall opposite her. The conversation had been, or at least Judy's contribution had been, given that she had only managed to get five words in edgewise. 'Hello', 'sorry', 'two days', and 'bye'. Her mind simply couldn't comprehend enough to say more and even when it did, her parents had drowned her out with their worried shouts.

She had completely forgotten about her parents while in the hospital and she felt absolutely horrible about it. She looked down at the phone in her hands, realizing she had been so worried about Nick and the case she had failed to even consider what her lack of contact with her family was doing to them. Especially since now they would realize that she had switched them out as her emergency contact at work. And with how secretive this case was, she doubted the precinct would have called them at all.

Maybe she should have kept them on as her emergency contacts at work...

She remembered the day she had changed it at work. It was actually Nick's first day on the force after graduation, and the two had been filling out paperwork for hours. Apparently with them both being products of the Mammal Inclusion Initiative, or M.I.I as many referred to it, they had to fill out many more forms than a regular officer would have when first being assigned a partner. With both of them coming from M.I.I, it was a logistical nightmare.

Judy had been typing away at an online form she had to fill out, wondering if it would be worth it to just start typing random answers into the open slots to see what would happen out of sheer boredom.

'Would being partnered with a larger predator animal give you any pause or make you uncomfortable with your work environment?' she read the question in her mind. Really? Out of all the questions they could ask, they had questions like that? The only thing uncomfortable about Nick was his personal wardrobe choices and that wasn't something she figured the internal affairs mammals would care much about. She wondered how Nick was fairing with his paperwork and snuck a peek at the crimson fox. He was staring at some form in front of him, his pen idly twirling in his paw repeating an odd pattern and looping around each of his pads and claws before renewing the motion. She wasn't sure how long she had been watching him, but his voice shook her from her thoughts.

"I thought you said bunnies had good hearing, Officer Fluff?"

He must have said something to her and she was so engrossed with whatever he had been doing with his pen she had failed to hear it. Her ears began turning a bright pink.

The fox was smiling at her, that smug grin that she had grown accustomed to on their first case together solving the missing mammals nearly six months earlier. She scowled at him.

"What did you ask, Officer Wilde?"

"So formal today aren't we," he replied, that smug expression still there. She flicked her pen at him as he laughed.

"Just tell me what you said already," she rolled her eyes as her foot began thumping against the floor in irritation.

"I asked what your number and address are."

Judy was puzzled for a moment then smiled. "Are you trying to ask me out. You know the policy about dating in the workplace." Now it was Nick's turn for his ears to turn red. Gotcha...Judy thought.

Nick spluttered and coughed as Judy began to laugh. "Not at all Fluff, I just need them for this contact form." He waved the paper in the air before setting it back down. "So, can I use you for this or not?"

Wait...he wants to use me as his emergency contact? Judy's mind was reeling. That should usually be reserved for close family members only. When she had begun at the ZPD she had used her parents, even though they were hours away as she didn't think of anyone else she could use closer. She wondered why Nick wouldn't use his own family, though to be honest, she didn't know much about Nick's family. Maybe...he didn't have any?

The look on his face though told her he knew what she was thinking. He shook his head, giving her the silent answer of 'don't ask'. Her heart dropped, realizing how little she knew about her partner and the life he used to live. She sniffed, realizing how lucky she had been to have such a large and loving family when some mammals like Nick might have nobody around to love.

Wiping back a tear, Judy smiled at her partner. "Nick...I...I would be honored to be your emergency contact."

"Bunnies and your emotions, I don't know how you do it Carrot."

"Oh hush."

She listed her number for him, the fox dutifully writing it down on his form as well as taking out his phone and adding her into his contacts. The fox stretched, collecting the mass of forms and paperwork on his desk into one pile. "Well, I'm off to see how I can make Bogo's day a little brighter." Nick chuckled as he balanced the paperwork in one paw and his phone in another. "He loves this stuff, right?"

"Don't go messing with Chief your first day," Judy replied with a shake of her head. "I don't think you'd like being a meter maid for a month."

The fox wiggled his eyebrows as he disappeared behind the cubicle wall. Judy felt a buzzing sound from her pocket. She quickly grabbed her phone and chuckled at the message.

'Oh, contraire, my dear hare. I'd make that clown vest look good.' Your favorite Fox.

She stared at the message for a moment and laughed. Though after a few moments she turned back to her computer, opening a few new files, following them to the one she wanted. She clicked on the file labeled, 'Emergency Contact Form' and began typing in the new number onto the form...

The memory was a fond one for Judy, as it showed just how much she and Nick trusted each other, but now, that trust had caused such a terrible mess within her own family. She was so deep in thought that she failed to notice the clicking of paws and soft tapping of a crutch nearby.

The soft paw on her shoulder though, she recognized instantly. It broke her from her trance and she reached her own grey paw up to hold his red one.

"What's up Carrots?" Nick whispered. With their height difference, she felt his breath tickling the tips of her ears.

"They'll be here in two days Nick..."

"Who's 'they'?" he replied, placing his crutch against the wall as he moved to sit next to her.

Her gaze moved from the wall to her friend. "My parents...I forgot to tell them I was in the hospital and the precinct didn't inform them either." She dropped her head into her paws, letting out a long groan.

She was surprised when she heard chuckling. Her ears poked up as the sound grew until loud laughter was heard echoing throughout the room. She shook her head in her paws as Nick wiped at the tears in his eyes. She seemed to be groaning at him a lot lately. Why couldn't he take things seriously once in a while. These were her parents!

"Seriously though? How did you not talk to them?" Nick questioned, his earlier laughter dying down. "You call them at least once a week." Judy nodded her head still in her paws.

"My phone was in the evidence locker and with the case and everything..." she threw her paws in the air before letting out a huge sigh.

"I'm guessing they're angry?" The rabbit nodded again.

"Worried beyond belief?" Another nod.

"I'll bring the popcorn then."

She shot up in her chair, her eyes livid. "Seriously, Nick? How can you be so, indifferent about this? These are my parents for carrot's sake! I can count the number of times they've left the Triburrows on one paw! You have no idea how worried sick they'll be!" Judy picked up her phone and slammed it down into Nick's lap. The fox picked it up, scrolling through the dozens of text messages and hundreds of missed calls.

"When did you last call them, Fluff?"

"A week before the attack."

Nick's eyes widened, "And they called you this many times already?"

"If I miss their call, they call until I answer," she replied with a frustrated sigh.

He made a slight, oh, as he scrolled down the screen, eventually handing back the phone while shaking his head.

"They'll be trying to convince you to move back to Bunnyburrow, I take it? An annoyed growl came from Judy as she smoothed back her ears in frustration.

"Yes! I only got in a few words during the entire hour they called!" she burst out. "Mom went on about how I've wasted all my time here becoming a cop when I could have married the Buckerson's lovely oldest son down the road," emphasizing the word lovely with a scowl, "and have enough grandkits to fill her house by now!" She dragged her paws over her eyes, pulling down at her eyelids as she rolled her paws in a circle over her eyes. "I couldn't even say anything as between her and Dad I couldn't get a word in edgewise. And now they'll be here on, hopefully, the final day you have to be here so on the day that we'd be able to start focusing more on this investigation, I'm going to have to deal with them now!"

"Sounds like you don't want them to come at all," Nick mused, his smile replaced by a more serious look.

"I do! It's just..." Judy huffed. "I just don't want to deal with what they are going to do. I mean...I love them and I feel horrible for not calling and letting them know I was ok. Dad even mentioned they thought you had eaten me and that was why I hadn't answered. I kept trying to tell them you'd never do something like that, but I just got talked right over. I don't want them thinking those things about you! Especially since you would never do anything like that!"

The fox put a paw to his muzzle, tapping it softly. "I bet you do taste delicious though, with a little lemon juice and..." Nick lmused until he felt a small paw connect with his shoulder. "Oww, alright Carrots, I'll stop." He put his hands in the air in surrender at the glare she was giving him. She went back to staring at the floor, her paws gripping the edge of her seat. Nick let the silence go for a few minutes, placing his arm around her and as he did, he could feel the tension in her shoulders beginning to melt.

"I'll be here to help you Judy...this wonderful fox will protect you from the scary bunny parents. Even if he has to break out the lemon zest and silverware to scare them off."

Judy mumbled a 'thank you' as she pulled the fox into a close hug. She looked physically and emotionally drained. He stroked her ears, feeling her relax even further in his arms, grateful he was able to help calm her even the tiniest bit. The two sat in quiet for a while, hearing the occasion sounds of traffic rise from the street outside their window. The sun had finally set outside, giving them a view of the brightly lit skyline of Zootopia.

"How are you with your parents Nick?"

She felt his arm around her shoulder go rigid. She looked up at him and watched a little of the color drain from his face. She didn't think the question would get that much of a reaction from him, though she really didn't know much about Nick's family to begin with. Every time in the past when family had been brought up, he had avoided the question or made a snarky remark that had caught her off guard. But now, she really wanted to know more about his family and if his parents were as maddening as her own.

"Have you told them about what happened yet?"

The fox extricated himself from their comfortable embrace, leaving his crutch by the wall as he hobbled over to his bed. "Maybe another time Carrots." he whispered over his shoulder. "Let's get to bed before it gets too late. We have leads to follow up on tomorrow."

"Nick, I know something's wrong," Judy said softly. Every time she had mentioned his parents he had closed up on her. "What is going on between you and your parents that you don't want to talk about?"

The fox yawned as he trudged off to his bed. "I'm tired, that's a long story, and right now my bed is calling my name."

"But you will tell me sometime, right?"

The fox stalled, his shoulders drooping as she heard him sigh.

"I will Carrots. Just...not tonight, ok?"

Nick pulled the covers off his bed and grunted as he climbed into bed and covered himself with the blanket. Judy's ears dropped at her partner's sudden change in mood and watched him for a few moments before sighing in frustration. He had done it again. She slowly got up from her seat and grabbed her pajamas from her duffel bag. Quickly changing in the bathroom adjoined to their room, she walked softly over to her bed, noticing the slow rise and fall of Nick's chest showing he was now fast asleep. She crawled into bed, taking one last look at Nick before clicking off the lights in the room. Her last thoughts before slipping into sleep's embrace being centered on the fox.

Someday you'll let me past your walls Nick. I just wish you'd trust me as much as I trust you.

\------------------------

In all honesty, Nick had thought Judy's parents' visit would be an agonizing visit for both Judy and himself, he didn't realize just how painful it would turn out to be.

Judy had been a nervous wreck the entire previous day. After waking up, she had refused breakfast, simply staring vacantly at her work computer. He had left her in that position for his morning therapy, and had come back to her, in the exact same spot, her paw hadn't moved an inch in the hour he had been away. Nick finally managed to get her to snap out of it by dinner. Clawhauser had come by to visit with a box of donuts with baby carrots on them and a carrot/apple smoothie from Judy's favorite diner.

Not at Nick's request or anything; even though the fox had left the cheetah a rather lengthy phone message detailing how Nick would buy him Gazelle tickets for her next concert in town if he happened to visit the hospital that night with Judy's favorite snacks. The smell of the smoothie and baked goods finally brought her out of her torpor and she had devoured the food like a ravenous honey badger, not caring about the crumbs that were literally flying across the room and landing on Nick's bed. He brushed them aside casually though, glad that she had at least snapped out of her fear-induced stupor from the upcoming visit.

With how much stress he saw his partner under, Nick was starting to become anxious himself. He had only met her parents briefly; at his graduation from the academy when Judy gave the welcoming speech. He had tried to shake their hands, only for them to nod hesitantly and quickly turn to converse with their daughter. He had figured with how little they now saw their daughter, that he would give them space to catch up. They had all gone to dinner together later that night, and throughout the entire meal, her parents still didn't talk to him much. Only saying a surprised 'thank you' when he paid for the entire meal.

He had begun wondering if him being a fox had anything to do with it. She knew from Judy they had teamed up with a fox back home on the farm, but that was a business deal. Having your daughter being friends with a fox far away from home he was guessing meant something else entirely to her parents.

Don't let them see that they get to you...he had thought in the moment. He just had to put on that face now before they arrived.

"Don't worry Carrots, I'm sure everything will be fine when they come."

Judy ignored him as she paced back and forth and Nick was sure she was going to wear through the tile at any moment if she continued. Nick stood, his back leaning against the door frame as he watched her with some concern.

"Judy, I'm sure they've been worried about you, but I don't think they will do anything rash."

Again no reply and Nick sighed in frustration Usually using her name would catch her attention, but with the stress of the moment even that technique wasn't working. She had been working herself into a panic, and at this point he didn't know any way to break her concentration.

"Judy!"

Nick's ears dropped behind him at the scream coming from the hallway. He turned just in time to see two masses of grey and brown barreling towards him. Before he could even move, the two concerned parents blew right past him, knocking him to the ground in the process.

"Judy, we have been worried sick!"

"Why didn't you tell us you were hospitalized!"

"Why are you even here? The Chief wouldn't tell us what happened to you?"

Nick groaned as he lifted his head from the floor. Seriously, they called the Chief? The buffalo was probably not happy from receiving that call. Nick only imagine the chewing out that was awaiting them when they returned to duty at the precinct.

The mental image was almost enough for him to want to find another medicine ball to kick.

"Oh my! What happened to your ear! Did some predator bite you?"

"Was it a weasel? I told you to never trust a weasel, Jude!"

Judy was as nervous and mortified. Nick hadn't seen Judy this nervous since the debacle of her first press conference, and wasn't that an ominous thought given what had happened during that event!. Her eyes darted back and forth between the two older rabbits, before she caught a glance of Nick laying on the floor, attempting to get up.

"Did you just knock Nick over to get in here?" Judy growled as she shoved her way between her parents to Nick, helping him to stand. She glared at her parents who, for the first time since entering the room were, silent.

Nick thanked her as he resumed his leaning posture against the wall, trying to suppress a grin as Judy stood between him and her parents like an avenging bunny angel.

"Now, first off, I'm sorry I didn't call. My phone was in the evidence locker and I wasn't able to reach it to answer your calls. Second, Nick and I have been so busy with this case I forgot all about calling you." Judy held up her paw as her father's mouth dropped open. "I'm sorry, ok? Really I am. I'd tell you more, but I can't share information about active investigations..."Judy walked over to her parents, embracing them both in a hug, hoping it would satiate some of their worry, which also seemed to snap them from their momentary daze. "I'm sorry, and also if you could, apologize to Nick for knocking him over, we can then talk after, ok?"

The ears of both bunnies turned pink as they mumbled apologies to the fox in the corner before turning back to their daughter.

"What happened to you?" Her mother exclaimed in haste as she put a paw to Judy's bandaged ear. "How were you injured and why were you put in such a dangerous situation to begin with."

"First off," Judy sighed,trying to withhold her exasperation at this frequent complaint from her mother. She already felt the migraine forming but she tried to push the pain aside. "My job can be dangerous. It's part of what Nick and I do as ZPD officers. I accepted that I might get hurt someday when I put on the uniform and I was hoping that you could someday as well. It's not like it isn't dangerous on the farm sometimes."

"Yes," her father interjected. "But the last few times you called us and let us know what happened. Remember that time you sprinted across the pawball field, chasing the wolf, when that cheetah kicked you into the goal by accident? You called us while you were still tangled up in the netting!"

"That was different, Dad. I wasn't knocked out in that case and didn't have my phone taken as evidence."

"Wait, you were unconscious?" her mother nearly hollered. She turned to her husband, "Oh good heavens. I knew you shouldn't have become a cop! it isn't safe for a bunny to be out on the streets alone. Judy, you need to come straight home with us. Tandy Buckerson is home from college and I'm sure you two would get along well and..."

Judy rolled her eyes and placed a paw over her face. "Seriously, Mom, no! I'm not going to give up on being a cop and I wasn't alone, Nick is always with me." she waved a paw towards her partner, who waved back towards Stu and Bonnie with a grin.

"Then why didn't he prevent this? He's a fox, he should have known what mischief criminals would try to pull on you!"

Nick's smile dropped. Even he didn't expect that from the matron rabbit. Apparently Judy hadn't either.

"Mother!" Judy's jaw dropped. "You did not just say that about Nick!"

"Well, it's true, right?" she stammered on. "You told us he was a shifty character before you met him. He should have known the criminal would have tried to hurt you."

Judy's temper was starting to boil. She took a few, quick, deep breaths before answering. "Mom. Dad. Nick is a good friend. And this criminal was just a ram who was out of his mind at the time he attacked us."

"Wait, so a ram attacked you? Can't even trust the prey in this city with our daughter." Stu went to sit down on a chair nearby as Bonnie's eyes widened. Stu stared at her in shock. "At least it wasn't a predator..."

"Dad!" Judy was aghast at her father's behavior. First her mom , and now her dad too? It was like they had gone out of their minds and started drinking the Bellwether Tundra-Aid. "It doesn't matter what type of mammal it would have been. And I'm fine! If anything, you should be worried more about Nick since he was hurt worse trying to protect me the entire time we were attacked. He could have died doing that!"

Both of her parents looked at her partner who was starting to nervously fidget near the doorway.

"I think what Judy is trying to say Mr. and Mrs. Hopps is that she is sorry for not calling, but due to the nature of her injuries and the ongoing investigation, she wasn't in a position to call you. She would have if she could have. She loves both of you very much and wishes you wouldn't worry so much about her."

Judy sighed in relief at Nick's explanation, though she was sure it would do little to assuage her parents fears. She was becoming too frustrated to speak calmly, but maybe Nick's straightforward answer would cool things down. She sent him a grateful smile which he happily returned with a wink.

"I bet he at least called his family though."

The fox's smile shattered. His ears flattened against his head, his eyes first wide with shock then shifting to an unreadable expression. She recognized it as the face he would make before shutting out those around him. The 'never let them see that they get to you' stare.

Nick, practically radiating indifference, grabbed his crutch, and turned towards the door before speaking woodenly

"I need to head to PT, Carrots. Think you can manage here without me?"

He was out the door before Judy could reply. She stood with her mouth open staring at the place where her partner had just been.

"Wow, I wonder what's wrong with him?" Stu puzzled behind his daughter.

Judy's eye twitched. She didn't care if she broke another stitch as she turned slowly towards her parents.

The yelling that burst forth from her room panicked the bear standing guard outside her door. Sergeant Hiberton quickly moved away until the shouting faded into the background, muttering as he passed the nurses' station.

One of the goats on duty thought he heard him mumbling 'not again' as he passed by to stand guard from the opposite end of the hallway.

\-------------------

The peace in this area was something that Nick loved about the place. The hospital was shaped in a giant "O", with the center surrounding a large swath of garden space. The previous time they had been in the hospital was when Nick had his arm slashed open by a porcupine who had, thanks to them, unsuccessfully tried to rob a bank. His room had overlooked this garden, and when he had come down to visit, he had quickly found his favorite spot. A spot he returned to now.

The red fox stared aimlessly at the fountain across the path from him. The bench he sat on being an ornate stone construct, which rose up from the ground as a natural formation. The water splashed this way and that as it gurgled forth from the tubing hidden within the fountain's facade. For some reason, watching water moving always relaxed him. The way it bubbled and ran down the path of least resistance. The fountain was in the middle of a oversized pond filling the center of the garden. A stream trickled away from the center towards a smaller pond that eventually ran underneath a glass causeway through the center entrance of the hospital. The reason being that most patients seemed to have the same calming reaction to it as Nick, much to the relief of their doctors.

Nick needed that terribly right now.

The conversation back in his and Judy's room had gone from stifling to unbearable in an instant; and suddenly Nick understood why she was so nervous about her parent's arrival. He felt horrible for leaving Judy like he did, but at the same time, he couldn't bear to be in the same room with her parents asking those questions.

'At least it wasn't a predator...' came to the forefront of his mind quickly.

'I bet he at least called his family though...' hurting the most.

He really wanted to tell Judy last night when she had asked him about them, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Nick was proud of his ability to be unreadable to most mammals, but lately Judy was able to read him like an open book. He knew that she wouldn't stop asking until he opened up about his family. He shook his head, remembering how she had asked him at his graduation where his parents were seated, so she could meet them. She had been so excited to meet those who had raised her best friend.

He had smiled, saying something along the lines that they were far away from Zootopia and couldn't make it, but sent their love.

It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the truth either. The truth hurt much more and Nick didn't believe she wasn't ready for that truth about this city yet.

She still thinks that Zootopia is a happy place...

Sure she had grown much wiser since her first few days in the city, realizing that yes, not everything was perfect, and yes, some bad perceptions of animals were still around. Nick didn't think she realized how deep animosity could go though.

His story of the ranger scouts to her was just the tip of that proverbial iceberg.

Checking the time on his phone, he sighed, realizing he had left Judy to the whims of her parents nearly an hour ago. He pushed himself off the stony bench, eyeing his crutch he had been given earlier in the day. Today was the day he was supposed to have been cleared to leave he thought ruefully. Due to him venting his anger on the medicine ball which ended up hurting his foot, he would have to stay another full day.

And they had only been approved for computer access at the hospital up until the end of the day too. He shook his head, angry at himself for being so foolish. He hoped Bogo would allow them some leeway and use them just for that extra day but he knew their boss had already stretched his authority on the matter to the limit. He had learned from being a con-artist that it is more than ok to bend the rules to your favor, but never to break them. Bending them leads to benefits.

Breaking them leads to heartache. Thinking back to his parents, he realized there were still certain 'rules' in Zootopia that he couldn't break.

He eyed the crutch one more time before he picked it up and carried it out. The limp from the morning was nearly gone and he hoped that he would run into Doctor Lutrinae somehow and convince the otter to let him out before a repeat of Sergeant Hiberton could occur.

Nick smiled as he made his way out of the garden and through the sliding glass doors of the hospital. A burst of air conditioning and sanitizer hit his nostrils causing him to momentarily cough.

Oh how he hated hospitals...

"Wilde!"

Nick's ears turned towards the direction of the voice. His eyes followed shortly as a portly hippopotamus in a blue uniform approached him.

"Lieutenant Higgins, to what pleasure do I owe the visit." He bowed and offered a sweeping wave of the paw for his senior officer. Nick enjoyed the giant herbivore's presence at the station, as usually, if the chief wasn't around, Higgins would allow him to get away with a little more shenanigans.

"Not today Wilde," Higgins sighed as he reached the reynard. "You and Hopps have to report to the precinct as soon as you can." The inflection in the hippo's voice began to worry him.

"Why, what's going on? Bogo get caught watching Gazelle video's again and needs someone to chew out?"

Higgins sighed as he held out an envelope to Nick, who took it quickly as Higgins spoke. "We have a report of another attack involving a savage mammal, but this was undeniably directed at the two of you. We're going to need all paws on deck for this one."

Nick eyed his lieutenant quizzically before pulling out the papers and pictures inside.

His eyes went wide in shock and his paw began to tremble as he flipped through the pictures. He tore his eyes away to look at Higgins, who nodded solemnly. Nick looked back down at the pictures he was holding.

Two mammals laying side by side in the snow, a crimson outline surrounding the neck of a female arctic hare in a blue uniform of a delivery hare. Nick gulped as he looked at the other mammal, an arctic fox dressed in casual pants and a tropical themed shirt, his maw clenched around the neck of the hare. Some sort of placard was placed on top of each of the mammals, though from the angle he was looking, he couldn't read what was written on them.

"That isn't even the worst of it Wilde." Higgins motioned for him to look at the final picture. He flipped the page and gulped as the rest of the color drained from his face. It was of the two placards, the first from the hare, the second from the fox.

"Never trust a fox, Judy."

"This is your fate, Nick."

Nick shoved the packet and the pictures back at Higgins who collected them clumsily as Nick started jogging for the elevator. He started smashing the buttons until the door opened and ran inside, again slamming the number for his floor.

Healing can wait...he thought as the elevator doors closed right before an exasperated Higgins could reach him.

Whatever Judy and him had gotten themselves into...It was getting out of hand.


	10. A Rough Start

"Carrots, we've posted bail early. Pack up, we need to go, now." Nick said, hurrying back into their soon-to-be former hospital room.

Judy startled at the flash of russet fur flying through the door. She was additionally confused when she saw his face. It lacked the usual snarky grin that accompanied such a sarcastic comment. Her parents stared at the fox as if he were possessed.

"What's going on?" Judy finally caught Nick's emerald eyes with her own and saw something she didn't like. The first time she had seen Nick with that look was during the missing mammals case when they had found out they were in the limo of the notorious gangster, Mr. Big.

She was seeing that same look again. Whatever had just happened to him was nerve-wracking enough that he wanted to leave immediately.  
"Something go wrong with the case?" She asked nervously.

Nick paused, the fur on his tail stiffening before he nodded. "A...a new development, that's all." He nodded his head towards her parents as if to say he didn't want to talk about it in front of them. Nick was sure he had done enough in the past minute to confuse them for hours. "Higgins is here, getting all the paperwork and release forms sorted so we can go." The fox snapped his work laptop shut, then began gathering the paperwork and research scattered about the room.

"Wait, what's going on, Judy?"

The younger rabbit snapped her attention back to her mother. "I'm sure it's just that we've got a new lead and can only follow up from the precinct. Right, Nick?" She replied nervously, glancing back towards her, partner who nodded his head while he finished gathering the last pieces of paper still floating around the room.

A knock at the door jolted Judy's attention as Lieutenant Higgins' large frame filled the doorway.

"Officers Hopps, Wilde. I have the release forms all ready for you. Just need your signature and we can leave for HQ."

"Thanks for the update, sir." Nick glanced at the hippo and gave him a sloppy salute. The hippo nodded and turned towards the officer standing guard at the door.

"Francine," the elephant saluted. "I want you to pull your cruiser up to the emergency room entrance and stay there. Pull as close as you can to the doors and make sure to be ready to leave as soon as Hopps and Wilde enter the vehicle. Don't let anyone near them, understood?"

"Understood, sir." The elephant saluted again before jogging towards the elevator.

"Now Judy, what is going on here? Is there something you aren't telling us?" Her father spoke up this time, a hint of panic in his voice. Judy looked from Higgins to Nick, trying to figure out exactly what was happening as well. "I don't like the sound of whatever was just said, and who's waiting to talk to you? It isn't right for a daughter to not share with her worried parents."

"So you two are Officer Hopps' parents?"

The two older bunnies spied the bulky hippo walking towards them. Instinctively they took a step backwards in tandem, Stu's paw reaching out for his wife's paw. "That would be us."  
"You have no need to worry about your daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Hopps. Out of all the officers in the precinct, your daughter is probably the most able to handle herself, and her cheeky partner over there. If you'd like, I'd appreciate talking with you outside if you have a few moments." Judy was relieved that Higgins was there. Next to Clawhauser, there was no better officer in the ZPD who could calm down a fearful mammal, especially with how anxious her parents still were. She could tell that Higgins would be with them for awhile as the three of them left the room, leaving it to Nick and her.

With her parents out of the room, the pair was easily able to pack up all of their equipment and Judy's things that she had brought to the hospital when she had decided to stay with Nick. Within minutes, they had everything stacked onto a handy cart that the equipment had been brought in on. Judy gave the room another check, pausing to look under the beds to make sure no confidential papers were accidentally left behind, before the pair exited the room for hopefully the last time. They had been in that particular room multiple times now, and Judy really hoped this would be the last.

Her parents were still with Higgins, the large mammal seeming to have calmed their nerves quite a bit in the little space of time he had spoken with them. They spotted her and Nick and Judy couldn't help but get a bit nervous as they walked towards her. Nick seemed to tense, then quickly maneuvered his way around the oncoming rabbits towards the large desk in the center of the hallway to return his crutch.

"Judy, I er..." her Dad began mumbling even before he reached her. "We, well...um." he took his hat off his head and began wringing it in his small paws. His mumbling continued until he let out an exasperated sigh. "Oh, Bonnie! Can ya help me out here. I can't say it."

Judy was beginning to wonder what Higgins had told her parents and sent a worried glance at the Hippo. The large ungulate gave her a wink and smiled back at her. She turned her attention back to her father who was now sobbing as hard as he had when she had left for Zootopia after graduating from the academy. Bonnie had her paw around his shoulder, a gleam in her own eyes as she coughed to clear her throat.

"I think what Stu and I mean to tell you is...that..." she paused, holding a paw to her chest. "That we know what you do is dangerous and that we will still be worried sick about you each and every day but..." Stu's sobs turned to sniffles as the matron of the Hopps family patted his shoulder. "We are proud of what you have done and accomplished in the time you've been here. I know that we would much rather have you safe at home with us but...you are truly making the world a better place by being here."

Judy was shocked, then relief flooded her body filling her with renewed warmth. She reached out and brought both of her parents into a deep hug. She had argued with her parents for over an hour and they had not changed their views or position in the slightest, but within a few minutes of talking to her superior, they had completely reversed their beliefs.

She would have to repay Higgins somehow for this miracle. She glanced at the hippo who had already taken the cart of their equipment from Nick and was moving towards the elevator.  
"Hey Carrots, gotta get this train moving before we lose our seats."

Both her parents jumped, startled at the fox who had silently padded up behind them. Judy frowned at the slight smirk his mouth held, though she could understand from what they had told him earlier that he would get back at them somehow. Not that Judy thought he was vindictive or anything, just...he wasn't the type of animal to take things lying down.

Her parents seemed to recover quickly from their shock and Stu even managed a modest, yet embarrassed grin. "Eh, Nick was it?" he asked.

Nick nodded, "That would be the wonderful mammal you're addressing."

"We would..." From the stance Nick held, his hind paws slightly apart and his tail straight out he was bracing to be hit with another verbal sucker punch. "Like to apologize for our words earlier. We didn't realize how much you meant to our daughter, and how good you've been to her."

Judy was surprised when Nick's mouth didn't drop open in shock as the twitching at the corners of it demonstrated it was just about to. He seemed to be frozen in place, the smirk slowly fading to be replaced by a hint of confusion before he tapped that emotion down.

"No problem, Mr. Hopps. Someone has to keep your daughter protected from any shifty mammals who may want to harm her."

Ok...Judy thought as she frowned at her partner...now you are just milking it.

"OK, Nick. We have places to go and cases to crack." She leaned up to grab the fox by his collar as her normal hold she used on him, his tie, was missing. "Mom, Dad. Maybe we can have time tomorrow to see each other again." Her parents nodded, before rushing in for one final hug. She sighed, glad that, even though the initial visit from her parents had been a disaster of momentous proportions, at least the ending was far better. Nick saluted her parents before Judy pulled him forward towards the elevator which Higgins had been saving for them. As the doors shut, the rabbit released her grip on the fox's clothes.

"A little excessive force there, eh, Officer?" he chuckled, smoothing down his collar.

"No, and unless you two finally tell me what is going on that was so important I'm having to walk out on my parents who have traveled 210 miles to be here for me, I will go Sergeant Hiberton on the both of you in this elevator."

Both the fox and the hippo gulped and looked at each other. Nick looked at the folder Higgins was holding.

"Umm, Carrots. I don't know any way to sugar coat it so...you'll just have to see for yourself."

Nick passed the folder over to his partner.

He felt terrible the following minute as Judy's face paled.  
________________________________________

Nick was rubbing Judy's back, her face still pale as they turned the final corner, heading to the exit. His nervousness was already growing as they rounded the corner and he suddenly knew why Higgins had told Francine to pull as close to the doors as possible.

Dozens of reporters and photographers were waiting next to the cruiser, with the elephant officer doing her best to keep them away from the vehicle. Nick heard Higgins curse under his breath as the hippo effortlessly grabbed their bags off the cart and bounded towards the doors as the reporters noticed them. Nick grabbed Judy's paw in his and followed quickly, leading Judy along who was still feeling quite ill over how graphic the pictures had been.

Nick was more accustomed to seeing death, living on the streets for as long as he had. The fox had a feeling the rabbit and fox victims had been Judy's first view of such a grisly scene and suddenly Nick was glad she was unconscious at the earlier crime scene and didn't see the rams' remains from the event that kicked off this whole case.

His had been much worse.

As soon as the two stepped out of the hospital doors into the bright afternoon sun, they were bombarded by shouted questions from the gathered reporters. Not even bothering to try and parse the different voices, Nick focused on shielding Judy and pushing forward against the tide. They had barely made it a few steps toward the waiting cruiser before several of the mammals stepped in their way holding out microphones and shouting for attention. Nick's ears slanted back and a low growl rumbled in the back of his throat as Judy's hunched her shoulders and winced, her sensitive hearing clearly causing her difficulties. Nick was prepared to start baring his teeth, which probably would not help the situation, when a massive shadow loomed over the gathered throng. The shouted questions faded quickly as the reporters squinted up at the massive looming bulk of Officer Francine Hathi.

"Excuse us, please" she rumbled in the most frighteningly polite way, as she effortlessly parted the gathered mass, removing one rather incessant reporter from their path with her trunk, allowing Nick and Judy to move forward again.

The two cautiously moved forward again, with the comforting bulk of Francine ahead of them and Higgins behind. As Francine opened the cruiser door and Nick sheparded Judy inside, he glanced up and conveyed as best he could his gratefulness. The elephant gave a small nod in reply.

Now getting over their shock somewhat, the reporters began mumbling questions again, which were fortunately cut off as Higgins tossed their bags inside and shut the door behind them, before the engine rumbled to life and Francine pulled away from the hospital. The entire ride Judy was quite pale, the pictures of the crime scene clearly replaying in her mind's eye. Nick wrapped his arm around her, bringing her in close in an effort to calm her. The case was so much closer to them now. It was now about them. She was grateful that her parents weren't in the elevator with them. For all they knew she and Nick had been randomly assaulted by the ram.

She wanted to keep them thinking that way.

The drive to the precinct was mercifully short and the elephant wordlessly grabbed their equipment and ambled off towards Nick and Judy's desks, allowing them to go straight to Bogo. As they approached the Chief's door, it banged open, startling them both as the water buffalo stared down at them.

"I take it that Higgins showed you the latest crime scene." Bogo was composed but both Nick and Judy could tell a storm lay beneath his calm exterior. The two nodded as the water buffalo pointed inside with his hoof. They hurried inside as he slammed the door shut behind him. Bogo stomped over to his desk, roughly dropping himself into his chair. Nick clamored up onto the chair opposite of the Chief, holding out his paw to Judy who gratefully accepted it. Bogo stared at them as they situated themselves in the massive chair. The stare down seemed to go on for quite a while before anyone spoke.

"Happy as always to see you too, sir," Nick saluted.

Judy jabbed him in the side with her elbow.

"Not the time Nick," she hissed. Bogo snorted.

"Well, it would seem that the two of you are back in working order, even under the present circumstances."

"Thank you, sir. As always, your charm is ever so endearing."

"Shut your mouth, Wilde!" Bogo roared.

Judy slapped a paw to her forehead. She didn't know why Nick liked to aggravate the Chief like this. It had become some sort of a ritual between the two of them. Nick would rile him up until he would be told to shut his mouth.

"Nick, for once can you stay focused?"

"It's good to see that at least one of you has their mind on their job, Hopps." Bogo turned in his seat to face his computer. The printer behind him whirled to life and began printing out papers. When they finished, Bogo handed them off to each of them. "This is the latest information we have on the case, including a few new developments since I sent Higgins to fetch you. The tech mammals downstairs have managed to identify the plate number you and Wilde were able to find."

Judy looked down at the vehicle in question, a large black and silver van with a blue pawprint on the side of it, along with the name 'Furzer' written through the center of it.  
"Sir?" Bogo glared at Nick. Clearly he was still annoyed with the fox. "Isn't that the large pharmaceutical company out near the Meadowlands district?"  
"That would be correct, Wilde." Bogo responded. "It turns out that ram that attacked you, Mr. Shepherd, worked for them."

Judy's eyes shot up from the paper's in her paws. "Wait, that means that due to his death," she involuntarily shuddered, "we have enough probable cause to get a warrant to search his office."

"I knew you'd ask about that. I've already called to see if we would be able to get a warrant. Most likely it will take at least a day, maybe more to get all the paperwork signed for it to happen. And before you ask, we've already provided the judge with your testimony and evidence and will hopefully attain what we want."

"Oh..." Judy mouthed the word as she felt herself shrink back into the chair. At least another whole day of waiting. She felt a paw on her shoulder and turned to see Nick giving her his pleasant grin.

"Don't worry Carrots, we've survived nearly two weeks being stuck in the hospital. I think you can last one day without verbally assaulting anyone again." Nick turned back to Bogo whose scowl had returned, "Hiberton isn't here, right? Otherwise there might be an issue."

If looks could kill, Judy would have needed to get a new partner then and there from the glare Bogo was giving Nick.

Nick turned to look at her, wanting to avoid the death gaze from their boss, when he shrunk back in the seat under the even more angry glare from his partner.

"I don't think you understand the nature of this case, Wilde. We now have three dead mammals and the only link between all of them is the two of you." He slammed his hoof down onto his desk, causing the oak table to shudder. "Somewhere, out in this city, we have a madman who apparently has it out for a pair of my officers!" Bogo huffed as he rose from his seat and walked towards his window. "The reporters at the hospital were there because all they heard was that the ZPD was heavily monitoring a murder involving a rabbit and a fox..." He turned away from the window, his expression growing heavier by the second as he focused on the two officers before him. In that large chair, they really did look quite small and powerless, even if the truth was the exact opposite.

"The pair of you are considered heroes to this city and are the standard that both predator and prey ascribe to. You have done more to create harmony between predator and prey in this city in the past year, than the past decade of campaign slogans and laws have accomplished. You both proved and live the motto of this city, that anyone can be anything. Now imagine what would happen if this city were to lose either one of you, or worse, both."

Judy was looking down into her paws, her anxiety growing. All she had focused on in this case was finding out what was happening and how to stop it. She hadn't even thought of the societal repercussions these crimes were causing.

Prey going savage.

A double murder, arranged specifically to mirror her and Nick, just to spread fear amongst the city's population.

Whoever was doing this, wanted much more than to hurt them...they wanted to destroy the notion of Zootopia itself. The weight of the case crushed down upon her shoulders like a load of bricks. Her mind hearkened back to what Bogo had told her long ago while she had sat in this same chair.

"It's not about how badly you want something, it is about what you are capable of."

What if we aren't ready for something like this yet.

She was starting to wonder if this whole case was over her and Nick's head. The two of them hadn't been on the force long enough to even consider applying to take the detective training program, let alone actually be detectives! Did they even have any business second guessing what those with more experience had classified as a simple overdose? She was only a senior officer to Nick, and he was still fresh from the academy! Sure, they had solved the Missing Mammals case, but that pretty much was a series of lucky breaks. She had never worked a homicide before and the most violent crime they had stopped had been a gang fight with the help of Officers McHorn and Grizzoli, both much larger mammals. She had only been on the force a year, Nick for only six months and most officers were only allowed to investigate a homicide after nearly five years on the force (and after receiving the relevant training in criminal investigation!).

Judy couldn't understand why Bogo was letting them stay on the case in the first place. Even though they had managed to find some leads to crack the case open again, why didn't he then turn the case over to detectives or some other more senior officers who weren't connected so personally. She rubbed her paws over her ears as her heartbeat starting racing.  
A case like this can't get any more personal when the murderer is sending you a clear message he wants to kill you! They should have been taken off the case instantly. They were too close to it. Too personally involved. At any moment she and Nick could be targeted while they were out following clues. The most horrible thought of all crossed her mind, filling it with dread.

What if I lost Nick...?

She felt warmth coming from her shoulder, and looked to see her partner's paw placed there, as if he knew what she was thinking.

She immediately relaxed, the tension dissolving away, though she also began to feel her ears burning up again. She didn't understand how he could have that sort of effect on her. One minute she would be hiding a panic attack and the next, he would be putting his arms around her, cracking some joke or just giving her that sly, goofy grin she loved. If comforted her, which was exactly what she needed at this point.

Bogo sighed at the pair. Hopps' emotions were an open book to anyone who looked closely, and he could tell that this whole case would be emotionally draining for her. He knew the rules about relationships between partners and judging by the way Nick was looking at Judy, he should intervene.

Not now...he thought, watching as color began to return to the rabbit officers face. Breaking them up would only bring more harm than good at this point, but if what he was watching now began negatively affecting them later, he would have to separate them. At least the tension was fading from the room as the rabbit was calmed by the fox; a scene that somewhat amused him.

"Also, neither of you can stay at your apartments any longer. With whatever mammal is after you, you'll need to be staying someplace much safer than where you are currently. Logistically, it makes sense to relocate you together. I've already assigned a safe house both of you will be living in until this is over." He reached into his desk and pulled out two keys, handing one to each officer. "You will also be assigned an undercover vehicle to go from place to place in which hopefully will keep the two of you under the radar of whoever is targeting you. Don't do anything that will make me rescind that allowance."

Both Nick and Judy nodded, though Bogo couldn't miss the nervous looks they gave each other as he announced they would have to be living with each other for their own safety.

"It is against my better judgement that I let you continue on this case." he let out a disgruntled huff. "However, most of my detectives are currently on other assignments and somehow you two have found more leads and clues in the past few days than my detectives had found in weeks. Detectives Fangmeyer and Delgato are in the midst of closing their current case. In a few days, they will be available to assist you. Do your best in the meantime. No, Wilde, don't give me that look!" the buffalo pointed a hoof at the fox who had just opened his mouth. The fox clamped it shut as Bogo continued. "Neither of you are trained detectives even though you did quite well with the Missing Mammals case and the preliminary work on the current investigation. You WILL accept their assistance as soon as they are able to provide it. Am I understood?" He glared at them, "Solve this case as quickly as possible so we don't have any more mammals we have to bury."

The two were silent for a long while before Nick finally spoke. "I'm hoping we'll be able to gather a few of our belongings before we have to move to the safe house?"

The buffalo nodded. "Yes Wilde. I'll also be assigning an extra officer to aid the two ofyou, as apparently we took you out of the hospital against the wishes of a certain otter..."

"Sir, is that necessary?"

"It is Hopps. The report that Doctor Lutrinae sent me detailed that a certain incident happened earlier involving a medicine ball and Officer Wilde's foot." Judy turned to the fox, who shrugged his shoulders.

"What, it attacked me first."

"I'm sure that's exactly what happened," Bogo snorted, rubbing at his head. Wilde wasn't even back an hour and he was feeling a migraine coming on.

"There must be a way that we can prove we are up to the task of regular duty, sir." Judy pleaded, her ears folding over the back of her head as leaned forward over the desk. "The faster we are off desk duty the more we can do to solve this before more innocent mammals get hurt!" What came next surprised both of them.

Bogo smirked, which worried Nick even if Judy was oblivious to the water buffalo's reaction to her question.

"I was hoping you'd say that, Hopps. I've already contacted Sgt. Ursula Byrnison from the police academy and she awaiting the both of you in the gym downstairs."

Nick's jaw dropped. He remembered the polar bear instructor from the academy. He looked over at Judy, who seemed...thrilled? For a moment he was confused. Though it would make sense, seeing how the rabbit had broken nearly every record at the academy and had Ursula spoken quite highly of her to Nick's trainee class. A certain fox on the other hand…

...he shuddered. That ice wall was death incarnate.

"Wilde, are you listening?"

Nick jolted his attention back to the Chief, who are now glaring at him.

"Yes, sir."

Bogo snorted as he continued.

"Ursula has been briefed on the nature of your injuries and will not be giving you the full physical capability test until she is certain you can handle it. I've made allowances for you to return to limited duty in the field in the meantime. Also, she has created a regimen of daily physical activities that will get you back up to the level you should be at within two weeks. If you can't handle it at any point, I'll put both of you on desk duty and other officers will take over this case. Are we clear?" He leaned over until his face was level with both of them in their chair, looking more at Nick than Judy.

"Sir, I love doing PT as much as any other mammal, but... is there a way of staying on the case without having to deal with Cruel-sula?" Nick's eyes widened and his paws went to his mouth as the nickname slipped out between his fingers. Judy looked at him with shock as her cheeks and ears went red.

"Do you want to keep your job, Officer Wilde?" Bogo grunted.

"Yes…" the fox stammered.

"Then," Bogo whispered, drawing himself snout to snout with the vulpine. "You will do exactly what Ursula tells you to do, every exercise, every stretch to get you back up to snuff," He slammed his hoof on his desk and roared. "Or I will ship your sorry little tail back to the hospital, where it most likely belongs, for another week!"

Bogo snorted as he raised up to his full height, glaring down at the fox who was now looking quite small. A thought appeared in the buffalo's mind, and he glanced over at Judy, who was now staring wide eyed at the scene before her.

"Hopps." Bogo spoke in a significantly calmer voice than he had to Nick.

Judy flinched at the attention being suddenly back on her. "Yes, sir?" she replied, after casting a final glare at Nick for winding up the Chief.

"I trust you are capable of ensuring that your partner follows any and all instructions given by Sgt. Byrnison? After all, we wouldn't want his intransigence to reflect badly on anyone."  
Judy's ears burned a brighter red in embarrassment. "Sir, yes sir!" she replied with an almost frantic salute. 'Please please let that be the end of this' she mentally prayed.

Nick's ears drooped. 'Great...There was no way he would slack off and get Judy into trouble. She was the senior officer of their partnership, if he screwed up, it was technically her responsibility.'

Bogo quietly smirked as he observed Wilde's reaction. Somehow, amongst all the officers he had working for him, only Hopps could keep that fox under control. Wilde knew that. And Wilde knew that Bogo knew.

"Dismissed."  
________________________________________

Ursula had tried to kill them.

At least, that was Nick's fervent opinion. The polar bear had managed to rig up some of her favorite exercises from the academy in the environmental chamber of the gym; a special area that could be set to mimic any of the climates in the city. Nick had not been happy to see the ice wall reconstructed in its miserable, albeit much smaller, glory, when he entered.

Other than the hulking ice behemoth, the rest of the therapy exercises were fairly standard for those coming back from serious injuries and hospital stays. Even though the pair felt like they were ready for a slow return to peak physical condition, by the time Ursula had finished with them, they were exhausted and completely drained.

"Geez, you two look horrible."

"Thanks, I hadn't noticed before you said that."

They had passed Clawhauser who looked to be clocking out for the day. The cheetah chuckled as Judy and Nick stumbled out of the gym, looking the worse for wear. Apparently their training session had been quite the experience, judging by the bent-over fox, who was clearly only still on his feet thanks to the rabbit mostly holding him up. It made for quite the sight.

"So, did Ursula bring in her ice wall for you?"

Nick's ears ducked behind his head as he turned to glare at his partner, the rabbit grinning back.

"Don't get me started on that Ice Queen's abomination," the fox grumbled.

"Oh, let it go, Nick." Judy laughed. "It wasn't that bad. Your head was just in the perfect place for me to jump over it. That's what partners are for right? To support each other? It shows how well we work together." The bunny had a gleam in her eyes.

"No! You didn't!" The cheetah fidgeted, bringing his paws up to his mouth as he stared wide-eyed at the pair.

A grumble from the fox revealed the answer, who was now glaring at the grey bunny walking beside him.

"That is so adorable!" He finally squealed, wagging his tail back and forth. "That is so cool that you two trust each other that much to help each other like that!" The cheetah was positively beaming.

"Clawhauser, that isn't trust," Nick stated. "That's hampering an officer's ability to work."

"It was leveraging resources," Judy cheerily shot back. Nick grimaced, nobody should be so cheerful after Ursula's PT torture!

"My head is not a resource to be leveraged, Carrots."

The sly grin on his partners face would normally annoy Nick, but right now he was willing to make an exception. It meant that even with all the craziness happening around them, she at least was somewhat back to normal after the new developments in the case he had basically sprung on her. Judy had been near-catatonic in the elevator after seeing those crime-scene photos. The ride back to the station had mostly consisted of Nick keeping an arm around her and waiting for her breathing to stop sounding like pained gasps. Most of his antics to annoy the Chief had really been to try and break Carrots out of that headspace. He would gladly accept her glaring at him over the dead look he had seen in her eyes.

Nick was thrilled that Judy seemed to return to herself during their PT time. The presence of Ursula had probably helped, he knew Judy looked up to her as a mentor from her time at the academy. That she was now happy enough to banter with him, even if it was at his expense, was a minor miracle in his opinion. He knew Judy meant nothing personal from the barbs they traded, and was just happy she was able to smile again.

"Well, your head is the most useful thing you bring to our partnership. Might as well find more uses for it than just your crazy ideas. Especially as you seem to have problems climbing over a teensy, tiny, ice wall?"

"Are you saying I am not physically fit for this job?" Nick smirked while pointing at his chest. "I'll have you know I beat your record at the Enormous criminal defense and take-down course. I'm the only one at the academy with a flawless record."

Judy looked up at the fox, who was still leaning a significant amount of his weight on her shoulder. 'Nick, who is holding who up right now? Do you really want me to just step away and leave you to flop on the floor? And besides, the only reason why your record is flawless is because I had already graduated and wasn't there to beat you." she winked at the fox.

"Oh wow, should I leave you two some alone time in the sparring ring later?" The cheetah had an amused look on his face as he glanced between the two mammals.

"No."

"Yes."

"Really, Wilde? We're already at 21 to nil, you asking to make it 22?"

"Keep using my head as a springboard and the next time we spar will be your first loss."

"Considering you haven't been able to lay a single glove on me and your most recent loss is to a plastic ball," Judy said wryly, "bring it on."

"Oh, you don't want what I'll be bringing, fluffbutt."

The cheetah paused, letting them walk by him towards the changing rooms. Their arguing echoing down the hallway as they began 'accidentally' bumping the other until they separated for their respective areas.

Clawhauser hummed happily as he started walking towards the front doors of the precinct. They sure do have it bad for each other...he thought. If only they would actually notice how much their arguments looked like flirting to the cheetah. He had noticed they been much closer the past few weeks, and as such several officers had raised the stakes in their betting pool about the pair. The unofficial leader of the WildeHopps fanclub now had $50 riding on them figuring themselves out at some point. He pulled out his phone, merrily typing away on his private blog, noting this most recent development.

________________________________________

They changed quickly into more casual clothes before picking up their new vehicle. It wouldn't do to be seen driving their unmarked car while wearing police uniforms. Though, with how emotionally and physically draining the day had been, the usual banter from earlier had faded into silence. Both mammals were too exhausted to come up with anything to say. Judy had let Nick drive their new car, a sleek grey sedan that was new enough to have the gadgets they wanted, but just old enough not to be noticeable while driving around. The rabbit had her head propped against the passenger side window, looking both tired and miserable. Nick was beginning to wonder if she had overexerted herself during Ursula's physical today just to prove to herself that she was ready for work again.

He thought it more likely that it had to do with the pictures of the latest crime scene. He pushed the photos from his mind as they turned the final corner to Judy's apartment building, the Grand Pangolin Arms. As Nick pulled to a stop in front of the building's aging, brick facade, Judy slowly opened the door, hopping out without the usual enthusiasm the fox had grown to love about her.

There was definitely something wrong with her tonight and he intended to help her figure it out.

"Need some help packing, Judy?" He heard a slow grumbled 'no' from her as she made her way sluggishly up the steps to the building's entrance. Nick sighed before leaning back in his chair, figuring she'd probably be back out in five minutes.

Fifteen minutes later and no sign of a grey rabbit anywhere was starting to make him nervous. Conflict raged in his mind as Bogo's warning about staying with each other for safety was battling against his desire to respect her privacy. She seemed like she wanted to be alone and the russet fox wanted nothing more than to respect his friend. Ten more minutes of inner turmoil and Nick finally had enough. He popped the door to the car open and ran up the steps and into the building. Her apartment was on the eight floor, and by the time he had finished sprinting up the stairs, curse that broken elevator, he thought, he made it to her small room. Just as his paw was about to rap on the door, a sound stopped him.

Is Judy crying?

Putting his ear to the door, he could positively make out the sound of his friend sniffling. He felt his mind tell him to turn away from the door and rush back down to the car and act like nothing had happened, but his body was locked in place. With his mind screaming at him, his paw moved up to the door and knocked.

"Hey Carrots, thought you might have fallen inside your suitcase and gotten yourself trapped. Need any help?"

The creaking of her bed and the pitter patter of tiny footsteps reached his ears as the lock to the door clicked. It opened slightly, revealing a disheveled looking Judy, still wiping at her eyes while attempting to smile.

"Uh, Judy. You alright?" The words spilled from his mouth before he could stop them. The rabbit froze, her paw still over her eye before she sighed.

"No...I'm alright. And as you can tell, my suitcase hasn't devoured me, so we can leave."

She rushed passed him, leaving Nick to close and lock the door behind them. By the time he had turned around, all he caught were her ears bouncing down the staircase before disappearing entirely.

When Nick reached the car, panting slightly and rubbing his ribs, Judy was already sitting in the car, a smile plastered over her face. She glanced at him and laughed.

"I was wondering where you were. Thought you might have been talking with Bucky and Pronk for a while there."

"I didn't hear them today," Nick replied, wondering about Judy's sudden shift in behavior. He could tell she was hiding something between what he had heard in her room and the fake smile he saw now. Now wasn't the right time, though. He sighed, sliding himself into the driver's seat, before speeding off to his own apartment.

This time both went inside together, with the usual banter such a trip entailed. Judy complaining about how dirty everything was, and Nick replying about how if a certain bunny wasn't taking up all his spare time with her workaholic tendencies, he could actually clean. It was as if things were back to normal.

Almost...

Nearly an hour and a half after they started, as the sun began to sink lower over the western horizon, they finally arrived at the safe house. They were pleasantly surprised by their new accommodations.

"This is insane Carrots." Nick dropped his suitcases onto a coffee table in the living room as he looked around the large room. "I can't believe that we both live in such terrible apartments while crooks we're protecting from other crooks get to stay in places like this. Makes me want to be a con-fox again."

Judy rolled her eyes but otherwise said nothing. Their safe house was much larger than both of their measly apartments combined. Judy only had her one room and, while Nick was luckier and had a bathroom and half kitchen, this place had everything. She was also pleased to find that all the furniture and appliances were sized for mammals like her and Nick, rather than the oversized equipment found at the precinct. She padded into the kitchen, and ran a paw across what appeared to be newly resurfaced countertops. Nick whistled, noticing the kitchen for the first time.

"Now we know where all our police budget is going," she heard Nick say as he turned down the hallway adjoining the kitchen and dining room, opening doors along the way. Judy could agree with that sentiment, no wonder they didn't have new desks in the precinct! "We should take on these big cases more often if we'll get to live like this."

It was a nonchalant comment, one that normally wouldn't phase Judy, but with everything that had happened today; her parents visiting, the pictures, the training...everything came crashing down on top of her like a pile of bricks.

Nick opened the last of the doors in the hallway, finding a small closet filled mostly with the water heater for the home. Down the hall he had found two bedrooms and a connecting bathroom that had doors that opened to each bedroom. The other side of the hallway had picture windows looking out over Little Rodentia and from seven stories up in their new apartment, he could barely make out the tiny cars on the roads in Zootopia's smallest district. He smiled, walking back down the hallway towards the kitchen and living room.

"Fluff, I think this apartment is going to be just perfect...Carrots, where'd you go?"

He looked around the main area of the apartment, but didn't see anyone. He made his way across the living room when he noticed a little mound of grey in the kitchen.

"Judy..."

The little rabbit was sitting on her hind legs, staring at the ground. Two lines of darkened fur traced down from her amethyst eyes to her cheeks before the tears dropped to the floor below, collecting into two small pools.

He made his way over to his friend, gently sitting down beside her and pulling her into a hug. He noticed she didn't object as her body began quaking as tiny sobs racked her body.  
Nick didn't say anything as Judy wept into his shirt, gripping it tightly in her paws. He began slowly stroking her ears, knowing that it would soothe her. He felt her relax a little in his arms, the sobbing slowing down to just a hiccup here and there.

After a few minutes of brushing her ears and holding her close, he could feel her sobs subsiding, her breathing becoming regular again . Nick couldn't help but smile at the rabbit in his arms. He brushed his paw over her ears one last time, watching a tiny smile peek from the edges of her mouth.

Maybe Clawhauser is on to something...he mused.

As carefully as he could, Nick lifted Judy up, carrying her in his arms as she snuggled closer to his chest, latching onto his tie. He chuckled as he made his way towards one of the bedrooms, glad he had left the doors opened from his exploration of the apartment earlier. He softly laid her onto the bed, though with some difficulty of trying to unlatch her from his tie. He gently pulled the covers over top of her, smiling as she snuggled into the blankets. He stood there for a moment before he silently made his way to the door and began to close it.

"Thank you, Nick."

He paused, looking towards two heavily lidded eyes staring back at him.

"You never need to thank me for something like this, Judy." His eyes were caught up in hers, and he saw a slight smile brush her lips. "Though, you're welcome."

Standing at the door as she closed her eyes, Nick thought back to the first time he had a close experience with death. It was a terribly lonely experience. He had been all alone, standing over the scene, too scared and too shocked to do anything but weep. It wasn't until the morning, when a police officer roughly shook him awake, that he had anyone to rely on for support.

He was glad he could be here for Judy. Even if he was just her partner, he would do anything and everything he could to spare her the pain he had felt when he was younger. Over the past year, he had grown to rely upon her for so much. The least he could do was be there in her own hour of need.

He shook his head as he shut the door, making his way to the other bedroom before collapsing on his bed. He smiled, realizing that even though they had grown up in vastly different situations, he could still be there for his partner. His best friend. As his eyes drifted closed, a hidden part of his mind whispered to him...

Maybe, that part of his mind, told him...she could be something even more.


	11. Furzer Corp

Somewhere, an alarm clock was ringing. Judy's ears popped up as she sprang out of bed, but was instantly bewildered at her surroundings.

Where am I? she wondered, before the recollections of last night came flooding back into her mind.

The safe house.

Her ears folded over her head as the memories came back to her. She finally located the source of the alarm; Her phone was laying on the bed, buzzing loudly before she managed to turn it off. It must have fallen out of her pocket while she was asleep. She placed the device on the table near the bed. She was hesitant to call it hers yet, as that would mean she would start thinking of the safe house as home.

She really didn't want to be here that long. Judy opened the door to her room, walking down the hallway, again wondering how she had gotten there when the last thing she could remember was sobbing into Nick's chest.

That soft, warm, red fur...

The shock of the thought stopped her cold in her tracks. Where had that even come from? The only other time she could remember thinking like this was back at the hospital when she was on so many pain killers that she had blamed the memory purely on the drugs inhibiting her behavior.

That's it, Judy. Somehow, you must have just gotten some of that in your system. She mentally kept repeating that line to herself, trying to will herself to believe it as she grabbed her suitcase and hauled it into her room. Judy opened the clasps on the case and pulled out her uniform.

It's just your overactive bunny imagination," Judy whispered to herself as she closed her suitcase. "That's what Nick would tell you." Along with some mocking for being 'so emotional', no doubt.

Though an ever-increasing part of her mind disagreed.

You can't blame all your Nick-related feelings on the drugs. You knew what you were doing in the hospital, you sly bunny.

And since when had her inner-monologue started stealing Nick's mannerisms?

Judy reached the other door in her bedroom and opened it, grateful that it was the bathroom and not a closet. She closed the door behind her with a groan before slumping against it and sliding to the floor.

She did not need to start the day arguing with herself.

Yesterday had been bad enough. Between the visit with her parents, the new murders, the new physical therapy both Nick and her had to run through, and then to top it off, her breakdown in front of Nick in their now shared safe house.

Could her life get anymore insane?

'Yes, yes it could' her inner thoughts laughed back at her.

She just had to follow Nick's advice to her, from what seemed like ages ago; don't let them see that they get to you.

In this case though, she just had to make sure that she didn't get to herself. Suddenly her world had just gotten that much more confusing.

The rabbit's ears turned as she heard a door creak open further down the hall, the soft padding of feet indicating that Nick must now be awake and would probably be wanting to use the restroom soon. She jumped up to her feet, locking the door to her room and noticed a second one across from her. In one quick movement, she leapt up to the lock, twisted it to the lock position before rebounding off of it and past the shower curtain into the tub. She threw her clothes outside the curtain and turned the water on. She would have to take a fast shower as she knew the fox wasn't a morning animal and would be wanting to use the restroom soon. At least she was good at that.

With 275 siblings, you learned how to have a fast morning routine she thought as she turned the water on.  
________________________________________

The annoying buzz of an alarm startled the fox awake. His hand instinctively reached for his alarm on his nightstand, a low growl accompanying the movement as he swatted at the alarm clock. Or tried to.

Where did it go?

His paw flailed in the air, not even hitting his nightstand that should be next to his bed...

Oh, that's right. This wasn't his apartment.

He lay in bed several minutes, whining as the alarm failed to shut off. He thought he heard a door open somewhere, but he couldn't be too sure at whatever early morning hour it was.

Nick finally cracked his eyes open as the mysterious alarm somehow stopped of its own accord. Thank the stars...he thought. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he began stretching his arms, happy to hear a few pops emanate from his back. He lazily opened his mouth, yawning before surveying the room in the dim, early morning light. The bedroom was considerably bigger than the one in his own apartment and had a much better view than his basement dwelling place.

At least here he wouldn't wake up whenever an elephant stomped across the sidewalk outside his basement window. Judy had been arguing with him for weeks to move out of his place and into somewhere better, cleaner, and most importantly, closer to her; arguing it would be easier for them to meet up and walk to work together. For him though, the best argument was that any apartment closer to the precinct would mean he could sleep in longer.

The fox gently slid off the bed, suddenly realizing he was still in his clothes from the day before. He looked around for his bag, realizing slowly, as his brain began waking up, that he had forgotten it in the entryway. Opening the door to his room, Nick shambled down the hallway, wondering how the day would go. Judy came to mind almost immediately as he located his bag and opened it, grabbing the clean uniform he had laid on top of the rest of his material goods. She had been a wreck last night, and the fox began wondering how he could help her more than he had been.

He glanced at the kitchen, remembering the scene from last night, and sighed. Nick couldn't imagine how Judy was feeling, given recent events. Nick had been a loner for a long time and, while not immune, had at least some exposure to how cruel and unfortunate life in Zootopia could be.

He felt badly for the fox and bunny who had been killed for no reason other than to send him and Judy a message, but he didn't know them. For himself, there was a certain detachment from the horrible event. Judy's mind didn't work like that. She still saw the city through somewhat rose-tinted glasses. And she was just a more empathetic person than Nick was. There was a part of Judy that really did see each and every citizen of Zootopia as a mammal she was responsible for protecting; they weren't just nameless, faceless masses to her. Nick knew she was tough, and woe be to anybody who thought otherwise, but he knew she was especially vulnerable to an attack like this.

Back in Bunnyborrow, she would have her entire family there for her to help her through this. Here in Zootopia, she didn't have nearly the support system. And right now, being forced to live in a safehouse, being ordered to stay inside and away from others; Nick was the only support she had.

And, by any means necessary, he was going to make sure she didn't have to go through this alone. She had saved him from a lost life on the streets. Nick hadn't even realized how much he needed to be saved until Judy had pulled him out and forced him to change for the better. He could never repay that fully, but he could be there for her when she needed, just as she had been for him.

Walking away from the room, his fresh uniform in paw, he made his way to the second door in the hallway, leading to the bathroom. It still made him wonder why the bathroom would have a door to each room and one to the hallway when a single one would have sufficed.

He opened the door, his mind contained deep in his own thoughts and oblivious to the sound of running water as he walked inside.

The fox was startled from his thoughts as he felt hot, steamy air on his fur before his eyes widened and the shower curtain in front of him moved. A shrill scream caused him to wince and his ears to lower as a small grey form parted the screen in front of him.

"Nicholas Wilde! What are you doing?!"  
________________________________________

"Carrots, I promise, I didn't mean to walk in on you like that! Please, can we stop with the silent treatment?"

The rabbit glared at him, but otherwise said nothing. Nick groaned in frustration and not a small amount of guilt. "Please, Judy, I wasn't thinking. I was being my normal dumb, foxy self. Can you at least nod your head to show you agree to that?" Judy almost always responded when he used her real name. It was one of their signals; when Nick really meant something, he called her Judy.

Nothing.

The fox threw his head back against the headrest, covering his eyes with his paws and groaned. Their first morning at the safe house was officially a disaster.

Nick had fled the bathroom faster than he ever could remember moving in his life, after seeing Judy's shock and hearing her scream. He had hidden in his room, waiting until long after the water had turned off and he heard the door to Judy's room open, then shut. He had quietly slipped into the bathroom after that, making sure that all three doors were locked.

Just in case Judy decided to pay back him back for his impropriety.

As soon as he was out and dressed, he had begun apologizing to his partner, just to be met with a stony glare she must have been learning from Chief Bogo. Nothing, not a word. Even as they were leaving, and Nick realized they should probably be in their casual clothes on the way to the station and then change there to avoid attention, she had simply glared at him before re-entering their apartment...

...locking him outside.

The fox admitted to himself that he probably deserved it. He should have knocked before opening the door at the least. He just had become so used to living on his own, that even the idea of someone else living in the same apartment as he was didn't register in his brain.

Which is what had lead to the earlier incident.

"Judy, please. I'm sorry. I promise you that I didn't mean to walk in on you. It was an innocent mistake. Just say something!"

Exasperated, he finally gave up and stared out the passenger side window as their marbled facade of their work came into view. The silence was stifling to him, especially as their usual car trips were always filled with jokes and laughter. Judy pulled up behind the station, stopping in front of a large metal wall with a sensor placed next to it along the road. She flashed her ID badge, the light clicking green and the gate opening for them.

Nick was never so grateful to be at work. At least maybe, some other mammal would talk to him today. He undid his seatbelt, ready to escape from the vocal solitude of the car but found himself unable to open his door. The fox turned to his partner, only to find her right next to him, her face nearly touching his snout.

He gulped.

"What did you see." she whispered, and Nick suddenly knew what it felt like to be on the opposite end of the interrogation table from his partner. He had no idea Judy's voice could ever sound so cold. The rabbit's violet eyes, normally wide and sparkling, were narrowed into tiny slits as she glared at him, one paw on the headrest behind him.

"Nothing! I saw nothing!" he stammered, nervously awaiting whatever his partner had in store for him. Her gaze only seemed to harden on him. "I swear, I didn't see anything Carrots! I only saw your head peeking out from behind the curtains. I didn't know you were in there, so can you please stop with… with whatever this is?." Nick was begging her at this point as she drew closer to the fox and he heard one of her paws clenching, the knuckles popping loudly in the silence of the automobile.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity to the fox, Judy pushed herself off the headrest and hopped over to her side of the vehicle. But not before turning around as she unlocked the door for her now un-trapped partner.

"One word of this morning to anyone..." he felt her gaze penetrate into her soul as she let the statement linger in the air between them. All he could do was nod as the rabbit watched him. "Then we are both going to forget this morning ever happened, got it?" Another nod. Finally a smile appeared on her face and her ears popped back up from behind her head. "Great," she said cheerfully, "Let's go see if that warrant has come in yet."

She hopped out of the car as if nothing untoward had happened, leaving a now totally bewildered and slightly frightened fox in her wake.  
________________________________________

"Morning, Ben!" Judy yelled as soon as she entered the side entryway of the ZPD. The cheetah waved at the joyful looking bunny as she hopped across the lobby, as only she could.. The door opened a second time, revealing the rabbits' partner shuffling in, the red foxes eyes showing a confused look to all who greeting him.

"Nick! There you are! Usually you're right beside Judy..." Clawhauser's normally exuberant greeting faded as he took in Nick's somewhat disheveled and decidedly un-foxy expression. "Did someone fall out of the wrong side of bed this morning?"

Nick looked at the cheetah, then to his partner who was smiling coyly at him. He turned back to face the feline, "Nope, just thinking about the case."

"Oh, yeah…" the cheetah lowered his head, and suddenly looked quite sad. "I'm sorry that all this is happening to you two. You guys are just the nicest mammals around. Even some of the criminals you bring in say that, at least when you aren't around."

"Duly noted," Nick quipped before yelling over to his partner who was now heading towards their workstations. "Hey Carrots, apparently criminals love us!"

He could see Judy shaking her head as he saluted a goodbye to the cheetah and hurried after his partner.  
________________________________________

"Lay it out for me, Carrots. What are you thinking of so far?"

Judy smiled at Nick, "I thought you'd never ask."

Nick was sitting back in his chair, still panting slightly from having to bring the several stacks of boxes filled with paperwork on the case to their office upstairs. As they were the smallest officers on the force, Bogo had given them their own office, as Judy had found out all too often that working in the cubicle maze downstairs was a simple way to be stomped on accidentally by the larger mammals. The incident that finally lead to the Chief assigning them their own space came after Nick had turned a corner quickly, briefcase in hand, and nearly been flattened by Officer Trunkaby. He had barely avoided the pachyderm's footfalls, though his briefcase had not been so lucky.

Now they were standing next to a large whiteboard that the twosome had lugged up from the storage room downstairs, along with all the paperwork and photos of the case so far. It had taken a good two hours to bring it all upstairs, with Nick having to rest several times, panting heavily until they finally found a dolly they could use to bring up the heavier boxes of paperwork.  
Even McHorn had offered to help, lugging the large whiteboard up the stairs as the fox and rabbit found it couldn't fit in the elevator, and the freight elevator had been out of order for ages. It was amazing how long maintenance took to repair anything in the building.

They were almost as bad as the DMZ.

She grabbed a marker and drew a line across the center of the whiteboard, putting a vertical line at both ends. "Everything that we know of began 13 days ago, when we were attacked by Mr Shepherd." she marked the vertical line with a Day 1, then moved to the other end of the board and marked the other line with a Day 13. Judy reached over to the large pile of papers on her desk, and began going through them. Finally doing so, she took a magnet and stuck the paper up above Day 1, a picture of Mr Shepherd. Nick nodded before going over to the desk, knowing what Judy was going to do.

"Are you really going to be funneling the inner workings of a tv show to show our case?"

"Yes," Judy replied, staring back at her partner.

They had watched enough crime dramas in the few days they had off for Nick to see what she was doing. Judy's favorite had been the 'Dachshund', a crime drama about a crime-novelist wolf named Richard Dachshund who teamed up with a cheetah detective named Kate Checker to solve homicides. A lot of that case-solving involved a large whiteboard which was probably the reason they had one now.

"You're the senior partner. I'm just the roughish good looking one in this outfit." Nick shrugged his shoulders, smirking all the while continuing to look through the pictures and paperwork piled on their now conjoined desks. Judy smiled at the small victory and continued.

"Six days later we were finally given permission to look into the case and started researching on day seven."

"More like forced ourselves onto it, but go on." Judy rolled her eyes while not taking her eyes off the whiteboard before her.

"So here," she drew a line roughly halfway between the two, marking it with a Day 6, then another next to it marked with a Day 7. "Is where we come in."

"Yes, and day 10 is when we finally found our evidence and convinced buffalo butt that this wasn't a simple overdose. I'm enjoying the history lesson here, Carrots. Really enlightening."

"Hush, you." Judy drawled, pointing the marker over her shoulder at him. She turned to add a glare, but found him holding a picture of the apartment Mr Shepherd had been in, specifically the one of the potted plant upright on the tabletop. She took it, (ignoring the wink he gave her), and another magnet, placing them in between between the last two marks, scribbling in a Day 10 below it.

Well, based on the photos we were sent," Nick winced as he remembered Judy's reaction to seeing those photos, "the bodies of the fox and rabbit were located; Tundratown industrial area."

Judy nodded, the familiar precinct-setting and her mind being in 'police-mode' helping her to avoid a repeat of the hospital elevator, as Nick passed her the photos in question. She marked Day 12 on the board before hanging the photos.

"The coroner's report, based on what they saw from the pictures, said that they died sometime early the morning the picture had been taken, but as the bodies had been moved, he couldn't say anything more specific about the timing."

"Well, that and the snow would have drained their body heat that much quicker, they could have been killed even before Mr Shepherd attacked us." Nick chimed in, looking through the now scattered papers across his desk. "We can go back and review traffic or security camera footage for that area, maybe try to trace the body drop back to the actual crime scene, but I wouldn't get your hopes up. I remember that area from my time working for Mr. Big; not a lot of cameras."

"Nick, Tundratown is Mr. Big's home turf, is there any chance he might have some useful information for us?"

Nick pondered for a bit before replying. "It's possible, Carrots, but he isn't really omniscient. We were pretty lucky he was able to help us with the Night Howlers, he doesn't know every criminal thing that happens in Tundratown. Plus, I'm not sure we really want to be showing off our connection there, given how high-profile this case already is."

"Judy flushed slightly in embarrassment. Nick was right on both counts, she had gotten carried away in the hope that they could find some justice for the poor victims. They would have to leave that missing puzzle piece open for a while longer until something concrete happened that could help them find those murdered animals.

She felt horrible for the fox and the rabbit who had done nothing except be the same species as Nick and herself. There would be no way she would let them get away with this. She would see this through to the end, if anything, just for them.  
Judy walked backwards, studying the board. "Nick, are we missing anything?"

The fox turned from the desk, letting his eyes wander over the timeline they created. "Don't think so, Carrots, unless you want to include your parents visiting or a certain incident in the hospital while we were recuperating, ow!"

The fox winced as Judy hit him in his arm, mercifully missing just below his bad shoulder.

"I'm really going to have to charge you with police brutality one of these days, Officer Bruiser Bunny." His voice was jovial and the sly grin was there, even though he was rubbing his arm. Judy just laughed at him, and turned back to face the board. Nick heard her muttering though as she placed a paw over her eyes.

"What was that, Carrots?" Nick grinned. "Did I just hear you calling yourself a 'dumb bunny' for hitting me in my bad shoulder?"

The rabbit didn't even need to turn around for him to know she was now very embarrassed as the normal grey of her ears was now turning slightly pink.

A phone call interrupted their conversation, a fact that Judy was very happy for as she jumped to the phone and picked it up before Nick was even halfway to it.

"Officer Judy Hopps," she spoke hastily, feeling even more flushed as Nick rubbed his arm with a sad, pouty face on his maw before he started laughing.

"Hey Judy, er, I mean Officer Hopps. Are both you and Officer Wilde there right now?"

"Yes, we're both here...at least I'm here. I'm not sure how present Wilde is." Nick gave her a silent face of 'what does that mean' mixed with a grin, causing Judy to stiffle a laugh. "What is it, Clawhauser?"

"Oh, yes, yes, yes," the cheetah stammered, which Nick even heard from across his position across the desk from the rabbit. "The warrant was just approved. I have it in my hands right now so if you talk to Bogo you might be able to go check out your lead today!"

Her eyes lit up. "That's great news, Clawhauser!" She thanked the cheetah before hanging up the phone. She leapt into the air, kicking her feet and fist pumping the air above her. "Yes! The warrant came through!"

"Calm down there, Carrots," Nick laughed, putting his hands out in front of him while trying to wave down the bunny's excitement. "We still need to get Bogo's stamp of approval, and given that he doesn't exactly want us out and about much before the other detectives can help us out..."

Judy straightened her shoulders, "Considering we're already two weeks behind whoever is committing these crimes, I think he can allow us to do this without backup."

Nick chuckled. "I'm with ya, Carrots. Just don't want those to be the famous last words on our tombstones." He winked as he headed towards the door, the rabbit following suit as they crossed the hall to Bogo's office.

The pair knocked on the door

"Come in, Hopps, and you too Wilde," bellowed the gruff voice of the water buffalo.

"How did you know it was us, sir?" Nick asked as they entered the room.

"That information is above your pay grade, Wilde.

Of course, Bogo wouldn't tell them it was easy to pick out their knock as Judy always rapt five times in a row, right to the tune of Gazelle's number hit, and which happened to be his favorite song.

Which is why he would never tell them. Only Clawhauser knew he was a fan of the antelope, and he meant to keep it that way.  
Nick's ears seemed to lower at the answer, but it was only for a moment as he hopped up onto the large seat across from the police chief, lending a paw down to help pull his partner up.

"So, what is it this time?" he drawled, putting on his glasses as he began reading some paperwork.

"Well," Judy began, her voice chipper. "We just heard from Clawhauser that the warrant to search Furzer Pharmaceuticals came in today and we were wondering if you would assign us to serve it."

Bogo lowered his glasses to stare at the pair. He wondered if they recalled what he had told them just the day before. Apparently, they either didn't listen, or didn't want to follow his advice.

"No. You can investigate once Fangmeyer and Delgato are finished with their investigation. They have both assured me they'll be done by tomorrow so I believe you can wait a day for them to assist you."

"But sir," Judy started before Bogo lifted his hoof from the table.

"Can it, Hopps," his quick reply silenced the rabbit, her ears drooping behind her head. "I've already taken enough risks with the two of you and I doubt you would know what to look for when you arrive. Have either of you ever served a search warrant before?"

Judy's head lowered as Nick glanced over at his partner. Since they've been together, Nick couldn't remember anytime that they had been approved for that. Judging by Judy's expression, she apparently hadn't performed one either. Sure they had searched many places when they had probable cause to do so, but officially serving a warrant? They had not marked off that particular item off their bucket list yet.

But, looking at his partner's face, Nick decided to try something. Either it would allow them to go, or get them desk duty for a few days. It was worth a shot at least to try and move this case forward.

"Sir, How long does nighthowler serum last?"

The water buffalo grunted, apparently taken aback by the question. "Why does that matter, Wilde."

"I was simply wondering, do you remember how long a night howler serum dose, in its shootable form, lasts?"

He could see a hint of frustration as Bogo's left ear twitched. "Whatever you have to say, Wilde, spit it out. I don't have all day."

"Two weeks sir, give or take a few days depending on refrigeration and similar storage factors, but at most two weeks."

"What does this have to do with the case?"

"Well," Nick was trying his hardest not to have his trademark grin appear in front of his boss. He just needed to play this through and hopefully that will get them what they wanted. "The day that Mr Shepherd, that ram who attacked us..."

"I know who he is, Wilde." Bogo huffed he eyes glaring at the fox.

"I know you do sir," he replied quickly. "That happened 13 days ago, sir. If the serum had been made the same day, for maximum potency, that means today is the last day any serum from that batch would remain viable before it decays into constituent components again. Every day we don't search Furzer, is another day we could lose valuable evidence to trace the criminals who are targeting us."

"What makes you think there is anything there to begin with?"

"We wouldn't know until we went, Chief? Both Judy and I saw what kind of lab equipment it takes to make nighthowler serum and we'd recognize it in an instant. We're the only ones who could go there, and figure things out. Nobody else knows this stuff better than us." Finally Nick's smile broke through. "There isn't any harm in us going there, Chief, we know how to protect ourselves and we can call in every few minutes to Clawhauser, just so you don't have to worry your tail over us."

Bogo looked from the fox to the rabbit, Nick with that coy smirk and Judy with those those eyes that were looking at him expectantly.

Bogo hated that stare that Judy seems to have perfected. Her huge, round, purple irises seeming to take up most of her eyes. It was just too…

He wasn't going to say the word, even in his mind, in case somehow, her ears could even pick up what he was thinking.

"Chief, we'd only be gone a few hours. Right now this is the biggest lead we have, and the one with the nearest deadline for it running out. We need to start this at the beginning, and so far everything starts around Furzer."

Bogo rubbed his face with his hoof. The logic to Officer Wilde's arguments were sound, he had to admit. He still didn't like the idea of these two just popping off to random locations to search for clues when a serial killer was after them.

But, then again, he couldn't keep them cooped up in here forever just to keep them safe. It would be a waste of two of his best officers, and the whole situation with Officer Hiberton showed that a cooped up Judy Hopps was a bigger danger to others than any other mammal could be to her.

"Alright," Bogo finally huffed. "I will allow you, this one time, to go by yourself. But, you are to inform Clawhauser of your location on the drive every five minutes, or if anything strange happens around you. Understood?"

Judy's broad smile was enough of a show of agreement to Bogo while the fox simply nodded.

"Though, first, change out of that ridiculous outfit Wilde. With how recent this warrant was served, I want them to know that officers are showing up to investigate, not some tacky tourist."

Nick at first was shocked, but slowing a smile grew on his features.

"Third time we've changed today, Fluff," Nick joked, slightly jabbing at Judy's side with his elbow.

Bogo really didn't want to know how or why he had just said that. Why must nearly every meeting with the fox threaten to give him a migraine.

"You two, just...Get out before I decide to put you on parking duty for a month."

"Come on, Officer Fluff, what are you staying around here for. You're slowing us down. Hop to it."

Judy looked at her partner with shocked eyes, raising her paws as Nick jumped off their chair and walked to the door. She finally hopped off the chair following her partner though Bogo was amused at how flabbergasted the rabbit was.

"Nick, come back here!"

"Hopps, you mean to tell me you enjoy parking duty? The fox opened the door with a smirk. "Have fun with those meters, Officer Hopps-to-it!"

"Nick!"

Bogo stared at the rabbit who quickly disappeared out the door following her partner. Bogo lifted himself out of his chair and walked over to his door to shut it. He admired their tenacity and drive, he'd give them that. He stalked back to his desk, pausing to glance at the paperwork he had just recently signed off on, "Approval for detective training". The two photos on the files made him smile. He'd surprise them some other time though with the news.  
________________________________________

Judy had finally caught up to Nick as they walked down the steps into the main foyer of the ZPD.

"Nick, how did you know all that about the nighthowler serum?" Judy asked. "I don't remember ever seeing anything about that in the files from the Missing Mammals case." Nick put on his trademark grin as they reached the bottom of the stairs, before turning to answer over his shoulder.

"You mean to tell me that I know something that our first rabbit valedictorian doesn't know? I thought you knew everything, Carrots." Judy rolled her eyes as Nick snickered.

"Well, if you want to know, I actually wanted to learn more about those evil little pellets since I always had a suspicion they'd show up again sometime. In case, you know, we ever had to face them head on without a blueberry backup plan."

"That's actually pretty smart of you, junior detective." She smiled at him as he rolled his eyes.

"Oh please, I doubt we'd ever get that job. Especially as Bogo probably still thinks that parking duty is the best suited job for us."

"I wouldn't doubt that," Judy muttered under her breath as they left the stairwell and headed towards the locker rooms.

"Though, you do look cute in that meter maid uniform, Carrots!" Nick said with a wink before he disappeared into the males locker room. Judy felt her ears heat up, although she wasn't sure if it was in anger or embarrassment. Neither cooled down until she finally entered the female locker room and doused her ears in water from the sink. She leaned over the sink as the water dripped off her fur, staring at her reflection in the mirror. He knows not to call me cute, she kept telling herself, wondering why he would even go there. It was like the fox was purposely trying to rile her up and she hadn't a clue as to why he wanted to do that.

Her mind started searching for any reasons as to why he would keep using that word around her, as her body went through the now-familiar task of changing into her uniform. The first thought was that he just wanted to annoy her. They usually maintained a rather cheerful teasing, but Nick knew there were certain trigger words for Judy, and her for him, that were off-limits. He certainly knew by now, that calling her cute was dangerous territory. Her mind landed on a ludicrous thought, prompted by the subconscious whisper that had been annoying her earlier.

'Maybe he means it, you dumb bunny.'

Could Nick really think she was cute, not like most people condescendingly judged her, but actually thought she was attractive? She felt a warm glow at even considering it, but quickly shoved the thought aside. 'As if Nick would ever say that seriously' Judy grumbled.

'Maybe he does. You should ask him.' that same quiet voice in the back of her mind snickered, sounding an awful lot like Nick using his 'teasing Judy' voice.

She let out a frustrated growl, hopping off the stool placed near the sinks for the smaller mammals and walked to a changing stall. Even in the locker room she couldn't escape from the effects her partner had on her. If he had meant it as a compliment, it almost made...sense in a way? All of the other nicknames he had given her, Carrots, Fluff, Cottontail, all were usually denoted as slang against rabbits, yet she didn't mind those. In fact, she actually liked it when he called her them.

If that was a compliment… Judy's cheeks heated up as she snapped her kevlar vest in place over her suit. The blush was joined by a sly smile. Two can play at that game, she thought, as she left the locker room and saw Nick already leaning against the wall nearby. She would figure out why Nick gave her such backhanded compliments if it was the last thing she did.

And maybe pay him back with some deviousness of her own.  
________________________________________

The drive to Fuzer pharmaceuticals was much more pleasant now that the pair were on speaking terms again. It only took roughly 45 minutes to reach the Meadowlands district, then another 10 to the actual plant.

"This ram must have loved his rinky apartment a lot to make an hour commute twice every day." Nick muttered as they finally pulled off the road towards the massive parking lot of Furzer Pharmaceuticals. They pulled up to the guard station outside the gated lot, a bored looking wolf leaning out the window.

"State your business and employee you'll be meeting during your visit," the wolf asked as they pulled up to the gate.

Both officers pulled their badges from their hips, showing them to the guard. "I'm Officer Hopps, and this is my partner, Officer Wilde." Judy stated, her arm resting on the car's lowered window.

The wolf continued to stare at the pair of officers before finally sighing. "I didn't hear about any visiting police today, so I hope you don't mind if I take a few minutes to check you two out." The wolf disappeared back into the guardhouse and grabbed a phone. While they were waiting, Nick glanced at his partner, wondering how Judy was dealing with everything today, as just yesterday it seemed like the case, especially its victims, were really getting to her. Today though, either she had a tight leash on her worries, or that moment between them in the kitchen last night had helped her more than he thought possible.

She caught him staring at her, her eyebrow raising while she smiled.

"What is it, Nick. Rabbit got your tongue?"

Nick was just about to reply when he heard the sound of a phone being hung up on a receiver.

"Alright, it looks like you two check out." The wolf sauntered over to the pair in the car, giving them an even more bored expression. He pressed a button, causing the gate before them to roll to the side. Judy nodded to the wolf while Nick sent him a sloppy salute. The wolf just stared at them as they passed.

"Notice anything interesting, Carrots?" Nick asked as they rolled into the lot. Judy looked around, her eyes taking in details quickly as they drove past rows of parked cars.

"Yeah, the security here seems to be a bit overdone. The fence is topped by barbed wire, that guard station has space for a lot more guards than just the wolf we saw, not to mention the cameras overlooking the entire area." She pointed up at the surveillance cameras that were placed not only all across the parking lot, but also around the perimeter near the fence.

"My guess is that inside they have another layer as well. How would Mr Shepherd smuggle anything as dangerous as Night Howler serum out of here?" Nick was scratching at his chin as Judy found an empty space and parked their mammoth police cruiser.

"Don't know," came the reply as Judy popped open the door and hopped out before Nick could even unfasten his seatbelt. "But we'll soon find out. Come on slow poke. Even a sloth would catch you at the pace your setting."  
________________________________________

"Welcome To Furzer Pharmaceuticals, how may I help you today?"

The secretary, a charming looking gazelle was smiling at the two officers as they approached the front desk.

"I'm Officer Hopps," Judy began, smiling back at the gazelle, "and this is my partner, Officer Wilde. We're here investigating a case and have a search warrant for a Mister Shepherd's office."

The gazelle's face slightly dimmed, though quickly picked back up. "Let me make a few phones calls for you, officers. Please, have a seat." She waved them towards a comfortable looking seating area. They found a sofa fit for smaller animals and sat themselves down as the gazelle picked up a nearby phone.

"So, what do you think we'll find here, Judy?"

She shrugged "I don't really know what to expect." Placing her paws in her lap and leaning back into the soft cushions behind her. "I mean, all we know is that he worked here. Maybe there isn't a connection at all and this is just his employer. On the other paw, we could find the clue here that cracks this case wide open."

She looked over at her partner and, for a moment, he could see in her eyes how tired she was.

"You're overthinking things, Carrots." Nick put a paw around the bunnies shoulders, bringing her nearer to him. "In the end, we can never know what to expect from a case like this. Did I ever expect, that day long ago when we first met, that I'd be swinging from vines holding onto a rabbit's paw in a death grip while being chased by a savage jaguar?"

Judy laughed, a smile replacing the worried frown from before. Nick was glad to see it back.

"I wouldn't have expected that in a million years, Carrots. We'll just have to do our best, find anything we can and search out every clue until we bring justice to this killer." His emerald eyes focused in on her violet ones. "And bringing sweet bunny and fox justice is what we're good at." He winked as her smile spread farther.

She didn't know how he did it. She really couldn't put a paw on it. How Nick could go from sly to uplifting faster than a hare could finish off a carrot.

"Since when have you been good at giving advice?" she winked back, nudging the fox in his side.

"Since I was 14." he coyly remarked. "I managed to secure a document that proved I was a licensed therapist and set up a stall off of 14th and Acacia. It's amazing how some mammals won't talk to you if you're a fox, but will give you all the time in the world if you give them a recliner and free advice."

"You're incorrigible."

"Maybe. But I'm also yours, so maybe I'm rubbing off a bit?"

Judy rolled her eyes. "That would be dreadful."

"Would it now?" Nick replied, leaning forward. "I'm sure this bunny could learn a thing or two from this fox…"

"Excuse me, officers?"

Both looked up at the voice, spotting the gazelle, who was now joined by a wiry looking coyote in a lab coat, who was waving at them from the front desk.

Both suddenly realized how close they'd become while joking around. Judy let out an awkward laugh, before jumping off the couch and headed towards the two mammals at the front desk. Nick took longer, his mind suddenly buzzing at a thousand miles an hour.

"Officers, this is Doctor Willy Coyotah, head of research in Furzer's Advanced Genomic Testing Division. He was Mr Shepherd's manager."

"And friend," the coyote added, looking down at his paws. "We are deeply saddened by his loss as he was a good friend to all of us here. A very kind and gentle soul, which made the, circumstances, of his departure from us all the more sorrowful." He extended a paw to Judy, then to Nick who had just sauntered up behind the rabbit.

"It seems like all the paperwork is in order, so just follow me as we head to the madhouse."

The coyote swifted turned and walked towards a set of double doors. "This way."

The madhouse? Judy thought. Why would he call his work that?

"Excuse me, Doctor Coyotah?"

The mammal paused, turning slightly to see the rabbit. "Yes, officer?"

"Why do you call it the madhouse, Doctor?"

Dr Coyotah laughed at the comment, a gleam in his eyes. "Oh, for reasons you'll soon find out." He lead the pair further into the facility, walking past dozens of doors, two separate elevators, and finally down what the doctor had let them know was the last hallway before they reached their destination. Nick glanced at his partner walking beside him.

"So, do you think he knows where we are going, or if he is just trying to get us lost in here."

Judy shrugged, "I have no idea." The rabbit was starting to become frustrated at what seemed like continual looping around in the maze of hallways the building had. Dr Coyotah led them through another set of doors, again scanning his ID card to pass through before they found themselves in a large reception area.

"Wait, we're back where we started!" Judy yelled, her pent up frustration finally reaching a crescendo. "Why would you lead us in circles!"

"I did?" the coyote had a bemused expression on his face. "Oh, I guess I did, sorry about that."

Nick watched his partner clenching her paws. He put his own paw on her shoulder, relieved when he felt her relax under his touch as he stepped up beside Judy, drawing Dr Coyotah's gaze. "Look, pal." Nick began, seriously. "If you've been messing with us, you should remember that we are performing a criminal investigation here. Not only that, but one of your lab-workers died so if all you're going to do is waste our time, we'll bring you in for obstruction of justice charges."

Nick lowered his voice to a slight growl as the coyote's smug look was now gone, wiped away at Nick's threat. "So you better lead us to Dr Shepherd's workspace, otherwise we'll break out the handcuffs and see how you like leading mammals on in jail."

The coyote gulped. "I apologize, officers. My coworkers just told that I needed to use up some time so that they could prepare the lab for you."

Both officers quickly looked at one another, thinking the same thing. They had been duped into following this coyote so the lab could be wiped of evidence.

"We need to get to the lab, now!" Both rabbit and fox said in unison.

Dr Coyotah nodded quickly, clearly over his earlier joking mood. "Alright, it's right this way." He lead them across the reception area, passing the gazelle working the front desk who was busy typing away at her computer.

"Do you know what your co-workers were planning, doctor," Judy asked as she drew up besides the now fast walking mammal. He shook his head.

"No, I just got a call after heading out here to see you two, being informed that a 'surprise' would be waiting for you."

Judy suddenly became quite anxious at what they might find when they reached the lab. She glanced up at Nick, who she could tell was feeling the same way; his right paw was hanging rather close to his tranq pistol as they hurried down the hall.

"Alright, here it is officers." They were standing in front of a set of nondescript double doors, not even an officer number or identifying feature to it that would suggest it was an advanced genomics testing lab. The coyote pushed in a series of numbers on a nearby keypad, then swiped his work card. The doors hissed open, sliding to the side as Willy motioned them onwards.

"Welcome, to the Madhouse!"

Both officers looked inside, and were met with a strange black box sitting just inside the doorway, a digital clock on the front. Their eyes went wide when they saw what appeared like red shafts tied to the sides of it, wires connecting them to inside the machine. They both heard a ticking noise and glanced again at the digital clock...

...that was now counting down from seven.

'Oh no!'

Judy reacted in a heartbeat. She grabbed both her partner and the doctor and began running down the hall in the direction they came. With her dragging a larger mammal in each paw, before their minds caught up to her and they began running on their own, she realized they wouldn't make it far enough in time. She tossed the doctor forward, throwing him to the ground before leaping forward as well, covering her head with her paws, in a vain hope they had gotten far enough away.

She felt a warm body cover surround hers and had enough time to look up and see Nick shielding her body with his own, a look of peace in his emerald eyes. It was the last thing of him she saw before he brought her in tightly against his chest, his blue uniform blocking out her sight. He was hugging her so close she could feel his heartbeat and smell his scent. There was some fear, as expected, but it was barely a hint compared to the overwhelming scent of sadness.

Her mouth opened, although she had no idea what she wanted to say, ready to scream at him to run, even though she knew there was no time, when the countdown hit zero.


	12. Flower Power

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay, especially with that cliffhanger I left you on. ^_^; Lots of things going on. Will try to post the rest of the chapters here to match it up with the story on ff.net.

There was nothing Judy could do to protect Nick from the blast. And he had thrown himself over her willingly. A fox willing to die for a rabbit.

All of the moments they spent together flashed through her mind as she felt him push her deep into his chest, wrapping himself around her. She opened her eyes, seeing nothing but blue cloth and a golden badge on the fox's chest.

The badge she had personally pinned on him.

She heard a click and even though she was mostly hidden under Nick's body, she braced herself for the heat, pain and horror to come.

Seconds ticked by and the heat from the blast never came.

There was no pain, no ricocheting pieces of debris flying through the air. No deafening explosion shattering her eardrums.

Though she did hear one sound floating down the hallway.

"Is that the 'Happy Birthday' song?" she heard Nick ask. Judy felt him slowly unwrap himself from around her, though she still clutched at his uniform, not wanting him to leave in case the bomb could still go off.

"Judy, you need to see this." His voice changed from one of bewilderment to...

Is he...laughing?

She could hear the deep rumblings coming from her partner, and even began feeling them through her closeness to his chest. He was laughing. Not only that, but laughing, hard.

Her bewilderment reaching a climax, she finally let go of her grip on his shirt and slowly pushed herself away from the fox. She stared down the hall, with her lavender eyes going wide at the sight.

A cloud of confetti and streamers was lazily danced its way to the floor, while a mass of multicolored balloons floated around the ceiling of the hallway while others were had spread across the floor.

Several heads poked their way around the doorframe as Judy pushed herself off the floor, making the scene even more comical, if it wasn't for Judy's temper beginning to flare hotter than she had ever felt it before.

What...

The…

Hell…?!

And like the icing on the proverbial anger cake, she heard a surprised gasp and a quick awww, from her left. Her head slowly turned to see Doctor Willy picking himself off the floor while dusting off his lab coat.

"I forgot, today is my birthday. I thought they might surprise me."

Everything had been a prank, a birthday surprise. The bomb was fake. All the fear, worry and shock of what could have happened triggered something in Judy's mind. Nick had been willing to die for her and she had seen her life flash before her eyes for the second time in two weeks.

Judy's anger was now beyond flaring.

Her eye twitched; her paws squeezing tighter as she slowly marched her way towards the door. Her thoughts focused on one thing.

Someone's going to pay for this...  
________________________________________  
Downstairs in Precinct 1, a large bear was making idle chit chat with the cheetah working at the front desk. A sudden chill worked its way down the bear's spine, causing him to shudder involuntarily. He quickly looked around the foyer, relaxing only when he saw no small, grey blurs or animals in sight.

"What's wrong, Hiberton?" Clawhauser asked, noticing the sudden change in the officer while taking a large bite of his maple glazed doughnut.

"I don't know," came the reply. Though he could still feel this cold, gloomy feeling of fear envelope him. The same feeling he had when…

His eyes went wide. "I think Judy is ticked off again."

"Why would you say that?" the cheetah asked, a puzzled expression on his face.

"Just, call it a feeling."  
________________________________________  
Nick always knew when to call it quits in regards to winding Judy up. The rabbit had a certain limit to the sarcasm and pranks he was allowed to pull at her expense before she would explode. It had only happened once, and Nick knew the warning signs well from that experience.

For example, he knew from that experience that placing a bag of flour on top of Judy's apartment door after they had walked home from work in a rainstorm was a surefire way to break that limit.

Judging from the death glare his friend was shooting at the five animals making their way down the hallway towards them, they would soon find out just how savage a rabbit could be.

"Are you guys ok down there?" Doctor Willy's coworkers, a cheetah, a hippo, an otter, a rabbit and a bison were walking towards them with worried expressions on their faces.

"What do you think?!"

The five mammals flinched at the cold hiss coming from the small grey rabbit before them. Her eyes blazed with anger and Nick noticed the otter's knees trembling with just the one sentence.

Nick almost said something to calm Judy, but held it back; he didn't want to end up an additional target of her wrath.

"You set up a fake bomb as a birthday surprise when two police officers are coming to search your lab!" Judy was ramping up the volume now, all while taking measured steps forward. She pointed her paw at the assembled mass of fearful animals. "Did a single drop of reason even enter into your tiny brains that said that maybe this wasn't a good idea? That maybe you shouldn't prank a cop with imitation explosives?!"

"I thought it would be funny." One of the mammals laughed.

Nick smacked his head with his paw when he heard the cheetah's ill-advised response. 'That poor soul just sealed his fate, though maybe he can outrun her if he leaves now?' Nick thought as he peeked out between his fingers and saw Judy's attention slowly turn in the unfortunate speaker's direction. The cheetah fidgeted under her glare and looked a little less confident.

Nope, he's a goner.

"First, you threatened police officers with a bomb…"

"It was a fake one," the cheetah laughed, a bit uneasily as Judy took another step forward.

"...reckless endangerment of fellow mammals…"

The sound of metal pawcuffs clinking together as they were pulled from Judy's side pouch echoed in the otherwise silent corridor.

"It was a harmless prank. You're fine." The cheetah replied, digging the hole deeper as he tried to laugh off the approaching bunny, though his laughter stopped the moment he finally met Judy's eyes and saw her icy gaze fixated on him.

Finally realizing that the officer in question clearly wasn't in on the joke, the cheetah took a cautious step back as Judy maintained her imposing approach.

"Eh he...sorry?" He raised his paws while attempting a weak smile. Judy's ears lowered.

Too little, too late... Nick mused, shaking his head. This is going to be interesting.

Judy bolted forward. The cheetah turned tail and tried to flee into the lab.

He only made it a few steps before a blur of grey fur and muscle collided with his back, overbalancing and toppling the spotted mammal flat on his face.

"You think it's funny to joke about assaulting an officer, do you?" Judy wrapped her powerful legs around the struggling cheetah's free arm, snapping her cuffs shut around one arm before rolling quickly behind his back. As one of the mammals flailing legs moved to displace her, she locked the remaining cuff onto the cheetah's ankle before jumping off the cheetah's back with a powerful kick, temporarily knocking the wind out of the now partially hogtied mammal.

"Should we try to stop her or something?" the bison grimaced as held out a hoof to help the fox to his feet. The other scientists had approached the reynard as Judy again tackled their coworker. Nick shook his head as the cheetah apparently began crying for his mother.

"Not a smart move, guys."

The scientists all winced as the cheetah tried to roll to his knees, not an easy task with one wrist cuffed to the opposite ankle. The attempt was thwarted rather quickly as Judy used the momentum of the roll to flip the the unruly scientist completely over in a manner that seemed impossible to the shocked observers, given the size difference between the two. Said roll both stunned the cheetah into a moment of confusion, as well as pinning the uncuffed arm underneath his body before Judy cuffed it as well.

"Although, to be frank, you guys are idiots. You know that, right? I mean, who in their right mind pranks the police with a fake bomb?" Nick was staring casually at the sight before him as Judy, having effectively immobilized her target, positioned him in the police-approved face-squashed-to-floor position as she adjusted the paw and foot-cuffs required when arresting larger mammals. Once satisfied that everything met her personal standards, meaning that you could photograph it for a police textbook, she calmly rolled back to her feet and watched with an expression of impatience as the cuffed cheetah moaned, muttering apology after apology to the barely winded rabbit. The whole takedown had lasted less than a minute; even Ursula would be proud of Judy's efficiency.

"But, it was for Dr Willy's birthday," the otter was now pouting at the fox officer, "You're simply blowing things out of proportion."

Nick's eyes widened at the unfortunate choice of words, before leveling his harshest glare at the otter. It was nearly enough to silence the poor mammal, as his objections trailed off into soft grumbling. Nick reaching for his own set of pawcuffs silenced the otter entirely. Nick shook his head, not believing how stupid these supposedly 'scientists' were.

"Alright, please! I'm sorry! It was a horrible joke! Please, just let go of my tie!"

Nick's attention was drawn back to his partner, who was dragging the subdued cheetah by his tie, in a pose Nick had unpleasant firsthand experience with, back towards him and the other scientists. As the cheetah struggled to walk, bent over to Judy's head-height, she was rattling off a pretty extensive list of charges with a certain grim satisfaction that Nick found simultaneously frightening and adorable. Her lavender eyes were narrowed, glancing over her shoulder occasionally to send a dagger-laced glare at the poor mammal, who looked like he still wasn't sure what just happened. Nick chuckled as he walked towards her, feeling a sudden strange sense of camaraderie with the scientist, having been dragged around by Judy in nearly the exact same position.

"So, Officer Hopps, I think he understands his mistake. I'm sure he's very sorry about this whole misunderstanding, aren't you?" Nick turned to look at the cheetah, who nodded his head vigorously. Judy glared at her partner.

"Threatening police officers with an imitation weapon, obstruction of an investigation, being a public nuisance…"

"Carrots."

"...reckless endangerment, harassment of officers. Not to mention…"

"Hopps."

"...disturbing the peace..."

"Judy."

She paused mid-sentence and looked at her partner, her anger diminishing just from meeting his emerald eyes.

"We're still here, Judy. Nothing bad happened to us. Nothing bad happened to you. We don't need to put the whole situation on the official record." Nick kneeled down next to her, placing his paw over her own that was still gripping the cheetah's tie quite tightly. "I think you can take those cuffs off of him now."

The rabbit sighed, her shoulders lowering as Nick leaned down to unlock the restraints from the frightened scientist. "Nobody was hurt." This time...Nick thought. "However, next time the police come to visit your lab, I suggest you greet them with a pawshake instead of bomb, alright?"

Again the cheetah nodded as his fellow scientists finally came into the room, their heads peeking around the corner to make sure it was safe first.

"I'm sorry, Nick. I guess...I didn't know how to react when we saw the bomb and I thought I was going to lose you for the second time in as many weeks."

Nick smiled at his partner, before reaching over to her and rubbing her ears. The move elicited laughter from the rabbit as she pushed his paw away. Her cheeks began to burn.

"Nick?" Judy's voice had gone quite soft.

"Yes?"

"Don't tell Bogo."

The red fox laughed. "I'll have to think about that, Fluff. Maybe a few boxes of your parents blueberries could convince me not to fill in the Chief on what happened here."

"I'll make it an even dozen if you don't breathe a word of this to anyone."

"Done."

Judy finally looked up at her partner, her cheeks still red, but at least with a small grin on her face.

"You're a sly fox, Nick."

"Don't you know it, my emotional bunny." Nick turned around and sauntered off toward the scientists entering the room.

"So, Doctor Willy," Nick began as Judy padded up next to the fox. " Where was Mister Shepherd's workplace. We would like to begin our investigation before any other surprises happen, as my partner seems to be on a short fuse today."

"Officer Wilde!" Judy half laughed and half growled while elbowing his side. Though it didn't hide the blush now reforming itself on her cheeks.

Seriously, she needed to get that under control.

"Alright, Officer Hopps. No need to blow up on me."

Judy huffed and rolled her eyes. "Let's just get on with this." She turned back to the coyote who was looking at both officers with a bemused expression. "So where is Mr Shepherd's work area."

"It's near the back. We try to keep any active experiments or stored chemicals away from the lab doors, and he had several active projects at the moment.. Follow me."

The coyote led them to a rather large cubicle space, large enough to fit several elephants quite easily, though most of the area and desktops were empty. Only a single chair sat in front of a computer next to the cabinets surrounding the walls of the cubicle.

"Mr. Shepherd liked to have a lot of space around him while he worked. He liked his space clean, open and inviting. You would have liked him, had it been under different circumstances." Willy bowed his head, rubbing his paws in front of him. "He was a good friend to all of us here, so if there is anything we can do to help, let us know. We haven't touched anything in here since he passed, so if there is anything to find, it should be here."

"Thank you, Doctor Coyotah, we appreciate that," Judy replied.

"And I'd like to apologize for my coworkers' stunt. I didn't know that's what they were going to do. We do like to play pranks on each other a bit, to pass the time you know...while simulations or experiments are running and we're just waiting for results."

"I think that is fairly common everywhere, Doctor," Nick stated over his shoulder as he began opening desk drawers inside the cubicle. "Now, if you'd excuse us, we have police work to do. We'll call you if we need you."

The doctor nodded, then quickly left the workstation, leaving both Nick and Judy alone.

Judy began shuffling her feet. "Nick, I'd like to…"

The fox waved her off. "No need to apologize, Carrots." He shut another drawer, then turned around to face her while leaning against the cabinet. "We've both been under a lot of stress lately and that," Nick pointed towards the entrance of the lab where they heard the sound of sweeping happening. "...certainly didn't help. Just keep calm and hopefully we'll be able to find the evidence we need so we can leave this madhouse."

Judy sighed as she removed a pair of gloves from her pocket, snapped them on and began opening drawers. Hopefully at least one of these will give us some clue as to what is going on.  
She glanced at the file labels in the first drawer she opened, unable to even pronounce half the words. She shut the drawer with a grimace, then pulled another open only to shut it after finding the exact same from the newest filing cabinet. How am I supposed to find anything of use in here when I can't even understand what the files are about. Even I did understand a word of this, how long would it take to sort through all of this material?

Judy stood up, again taking another look around the cubicle. Nick was sorting through another filing cabinet, against the opposite wall, but she could tell by the way his tail was bristling that he was meeting the same frustrations she was. She watched for a while, noticing whenever he became annoyed as his tail would slightly twitch to one side or the other.

"Should I start charging a fee for how minutes you stare at me, Carrots, or just let you keep watching?"

Judy's eyes shot open and she quickly turned around to face yet another filing cabinet. She heard chuckling behind her.

"Guess you didn't like what you saw, eh, Fluff?"

You should tell him you did, just to see what happens. You'll thank me later.

Judy groaned internally, the voice was back. Though this time, she paused before rejecting the notion. She finally gave in, though the words she was thinking left her mouth faster than she could process what was being said.

"And if I did?"

Judy placed her paws over her mouth, her ears instantly turning red. She heard the fox begin a coughing fit as she turned around and saw him look like he was choking. He stopped quickly, though his fur did seem to be a bit more red than usual.

"Have to say, I wasn't expecting that from you, Carrots."

See, isn't this more fun?

She had to admit, it was nice to see Nick this flustered. The fox chuckled nervously. "I think we should get back to searching for clues now." He quickly turned back to his own filing cabinet, his ears plastered to the back to the head.

Oh right, the case.

Judy went back to looking around the office. She noticed a fine layer of dust building up on the desk and over his computer screen, which was to be expected considering nobody had touched this office in two weeks. She opened a few more files, but found only well kept paperwork. Their biggest hope for a clue was turning into a bust.

"Anything I can help with, Officers?"

Judy turned to see the hippo from earlier standing in the entryway of the cubicle.

"And you are?" She heard Nick say from across the room.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Phil. Phil Pottamus. I was Archibald's assistant when he was still here." The hippo's voice trailed off as he looked at the ground. "Doctor Coyoteh sent me to help you guys since, well...I was the only one who thought that fake bomb idea was a bad one and he didn't want any more of his scientists getting, uh...tied up."

"Finally, a smart mammal here." Nick shot over his shoulder as he rifled through more paperwork. Judy glared at him as he noticed the hippo's shoulders droop even further.

"I'm sorry for your loss, were you two close?" Judy asked, walking up to the much larger mammal, placing a paw on his arm, the highest point she could reach.

"We are...I mean, we were. He was a mentor to me since I was first hired here. He took me on as his lab assistant when nobody else wanted to and taught me so much. I wouldn't be half the scientist I am now without his guidance. He was brilliant by any account. Do you know he was the team leader for the Nighthowlers counteragent? He worked 18 hour days for a week straight trying to cure those mammals, refused to go home until it was done. Had a little cot installed right over there."

Judy was in awe, though now she was even feeling worse for Shepherd's death. "He sounded like he was a good mammal."

Phil nodded. "He was. Most of the others around here don't seem to like having me around as I tend to be a bit on the clumsy side. He...he treated me different. He let me take part in his experiments, even if I tended to break things more than help. He let me be on the proposal as second author for the Nighthowler preventative inoculations. You were probably some of the first to receive those once we developed them, I know they were ordered special for the ZPD. Archie really thought the world of people in uniform. I remember this one time-"

"I'm sorry if I seem a bit pushy," Nick interjected, pulling himself away from the filing cabinet and turned to face the hippo. "But, could you let us know what you two were working on before his death? As much as I enjoy a good backstory and looking at documents I can't understand, I think both Judy and I would like to be in and out of here as quickly as possible."

"Sorry, I kind of got lost in my memories there." Phil scratched the back of his neck. "I can show you what we were doing, but I don't know how much help I'll be. I don't think even Doctor Coyotah understood half of what ole Archie was talking about. Follow me, our latest project was over here."

The hippo led him out of the cubicle and toward the far side of the room where a kitchen and dining area was set up.

"Since most of us don't like our projects interrupted while we work, management set us up with a full kitchen here so we wouldn't have to leave the room and could stay focused."

"That's nice of them," Nick muttered. "Nothing like your employer giving you perks so you have to work harder during your breaks."

"Isn't it great?" The hippo replied joyfully, apparently missing Nick's jab. "It makes it much easier to work while having lunch so we don't have to stop our research."

"Do you guys get a paid lunch?" Nick queried.

"Nope," the hippo replied merrily. "We're not supposed to conduct work while on lunch. It's protocol."

Nick glanced over at Judy, giving her a 'I can't believe this guy' look as she rolled her eyes in agreement.

"Our latest project was in here," Phil walked over to the fridge, opened it and pulled out a large bag of carrots. Both Nick and Judy stared at each.

"Carrots?" They blurted out at once?

"What do you mean, that your science fair project is growing carrots?" Nick asked with hint of annoyance.

"Not just any carrots," the hippo countered, looking positively gleeful. "These are special ones that are going to change the way produce is delivered to market. Once we perfect the formula, these little guys will last nearly ten times as long as normal carrots. Companies will be paying millions for this to get their produce to stay fresher, longer. It will be a market changer for all produce, and all of Zootopia." The hippo smiled as he presented the bag of carrots to Nick, who took them in his gloved paws.

The fox glanced at his partner, who's nose was wrinkling at the hippo's statement. From previous conversations with her, he knew that her family's farm was beginning to have tougher competition from larger companies that were chemically altering their products to make them last longer, therefore allowing them to take over more and more markets where as her family's farm only delivered fresh produce to nearby locations. The larger companies products were starting to cut into her family's business and Nick had heard of many long, and frustrating conversations between her and her parents about their budget getting tighter due to the altered produce.

"Hey Judy, what do you think of this?" He held up the bag for her to look at. Her nose began twitching even more and her ears laid back behind her head.

"They...there's something not right. They smell...wrong."

"Really? They don't smell any different than a normal carrot to me?" Nick held the bag up to his nose and sniffed.

"I don't even think you know what a carrot smells like anyways." Judy shot back as she took a step back away from the bag.

"Easy, they smell like you." He grinned cheekily before peering at the bag again. "They can't be that bad." Nick held the bag out to his partner, who took yet another step back.

"Seriously, Nick. Those carrots, there's something bad about them. Just put them back in the fridge. Or better yet, dump them in the garbage." She ignored the shouted objection that came from the hippo nearby.

"What, Carrots has finally met a carrot she didn't like?" Nick smirked briefly at his own joke, but Judy's clear discomfort was beginning to get to him. He watched her carefully, her shoulders hunched, leg muscles tense, ears flat against her head and fur on end; it was a position he had only seen her in a few times, usually when facing down something dangerous. Nick glanced at the bagged carrots, dubiously.

"What do you mean, Carrots?" He held the bag up again, eyeing the produce carefully. He was now only a few feet away from her and Judy's nose was starting to go crazy. She tried covering it with her paw, but it wouldn't stop twitching. She knew what the smell was, she just couldn't place it and it was driving her to distraction. Nick was still talking, but her mind blocked out everything he was saying.

She closed her eyes and tuned out the voices, focusing completely on just the smell to the exclusion of everything else around her. The scent was something that reminded her of home, but she had no idea why. Her parents' produce smelled nothing like this!. She sniffed again, and homed in on a certain subtle note that tickled her memory more specifically, bringing to mind the produce stand at her home, right at the edge of the carrot fields. It suddenly clicked.

The stand.

The fields.

The flowers surrounding the fields.

Judy's eyes widened. The flowers!

Nighthowlers!

"...I mean, take a quick whiff. Maybe being closer might help you figure out…hey!"

As Nick held the bag towards his partner, Judy opened her eyes and recoiled from the approaching carrots. She reacted on instinct and knocked it of his paws, scattering the produce across the floor of the kitchen.

"What's going on?" they heard Phil yell from near the refrigerator. "If they smell that horrible, I could always adjust the chemical mix so it's more to your liking."  
Judy turned to face the hippo. "Why are those carrots laced with nighthowler pollen?"

Nick's eyes widened. "What are you saying, Judy?"

"Back home we surround our fields with nighthowlers to keep the bugs away from our produce. That bag of carrots reeks of the pollen! Every year when I was younger and they were in bloom, Dad would tell us to keep away from the flowers and I never understood why until we solved the case last year. If the pollen is concentrated enough, or you eat foods laced with it, you might as well have eaten the flower itself! It's not the same as the concentrated serum, but it's still enough to cause aggression and violence!"

"I sniffed the bag...!" Nick paled, then went running over to the nearby sink, quickly dousing his muzzle with water.

Judy turned to face the hippo. "Why does that bag have nighthowler pollen in it!"

"I don't know! It shouldn't," the hefty ungulate protested. "We haven't done any work on that stuff since the original counteragents, that was almost a year ago!"

"That doesn't answer my question." Judy snapped, taking a menacing step forward as she quickly shot a glance at Nick who now had his entire muzzle under the flow of water from the sink. "Why is it on there!"

"I don't know," Phil spluttered. "Shepherd only allowed me to help take notes and update files on the experiments, he never let me actually mix the ingredients." The hippo was starting to look terrified. "I touched the bag, does that mean I'm going to gp savage?" He started staring at his paws which were now shaking.

Judy growled in frustration. Clearly everyone here is a complete idiot! She hurried over to Nick who was slouching over the sink, drying his muzzle off with some nearby paper towels. Judy placed a paw on his shoulder.

He jerked away. "I sniffed them, I could go savage." Nick hissed, taking several steps back from the rabbit.

"Would both of you please calm down! If you were to go savage from touching or sniffing the bag, you would have already done so!" She pulled at her ears. This day was just getting better and better every minute.

"Oh look, carrots! I love these!"

At once, all three mammals froze as they heard a crunch echo behind them. They turned as if all on the same thought pattern and saw the rabbit from earlier chewing on one of the dropped carrots.

"Doctor Sprintz," the hippo stuttered. "Why did you eat that? Can't you smell them?"

The rabbit shook his head and lowered his eyebrows. "I have dysosmia from an accident with some bleach a few years back and now I can't smell anything."

Nick and Judy looked at each other and gulped. Nick pulled out his tranquilizer pistol as Judy pulled out her pair of pawcuffs.

"Now, Mark, we're going to ask you to please calmly lay on the ground with your paws behind your back."

"What for? I haven't done any…" the rabbit coughed loudly. "...thing." He coughed again, this time much louder and harder than before. His coughing became worse and worse until he was doubled over on the ground. Nick took a look back behind him to see Phil petrified and unable to move.

"Phil," Nick shouted at the hippo, seeming to wake him from his stupor. "I need you to call the ZPD. Tell them we have a savage mammal at Furzer and we require backup, now!"

The hippo nodded, before sprinting as fast as Nick had ever seen a hippo run before. He turned his attention back towards the rabbit who was now convulsing on the floor.

"Judy, how are we so lucky that we are getting to deal with so many savage mammals?"

"I think you must attract them, Nick."

Nick aimed his tranquilizer pistol at the twitching rabbit as it slowly lifted itself from the floor, ready for mammal to suddenly turn to attack. His breathe caught in his throat as Mark the rabbit turned, now facing the two officers. The rabbit was down on all four as it slowly opened his eyes.

Nick steadied his pistol, waiting for the rabbit to pounce when the oddest thing happened as it's eyes made contact with Nick's.

It's ears went straight back, eyes widened, and just as Nick pulled the trigger on his pistol expecting it to attack, it bolted backwards and away from the fox, the dart chipping the tile where the rabbit had just been before spinning to a stop nearby.

Both officers looked at each other, a strange combination of worry and surprise.

"What just happened," Judy asked, spying the bunny now hopping madly away from them disappear behind a cubicle wall. "Savage animals don't run away like that."

They heard several loud crashes coming from the cubicle the rabbit had just raced into, followed by harsh yelling.

"Mark's gone mad!" they heard a voice cry as another crashing sound was heard, this time of breaking glass. "Someone catch him, please! He just ruined my project!"

The shouting shook both officers awake. Nick nodded to Judy as the pair sprinted off, following the cacophony of breaking glass or books and papers sent flying. Judy quickly took the lead as Nick followed her, both slowed by the broken glass littering the floor.

"Second time a rabbit's been loose in here in two hours," Nick joked with his partner, giving her a sly grin. "Think you can catch him, Carrots?"

Nick yelped, as a shard of glass on the floor sliced his hindpaw, stopping momentarily to try and pry it out.

Judy lowered her ears, her eyes narrowing as she snuck a quick glance at her partner.

"I didn't get all those running records at the academy for nothing!"

Her partner would have smiled if not for the pain from the glass that had just extracted from his paw. Both finally spied the rabbit, trying frantically to avoid the grasp of the hippo, Phil, who was frantically trying to block the rabbit from escaping into his cubicle. Though he did a rather poor job of it as the rabbit raced between his hooves causing him to fall forward as he tried to catch his friend. Judy stopped to help the hippo up as the small cottontail disappeared again behind another cubicle.

"What happened to him," Phil blubbered, trying to spot where his co-worker had run to. "He was fine just a minute ago."

"We thought we knew but…" Judy paused, as her ears detected a soft pitter patter of small claws padding across tile. "Right now, we just need to catch Dr Sprintz."

Another loud crash sounded, this time catching all their attention as a bookshelf near the opposite end of the room tipped over on top of the bison, who was frantically trying to hold it up as books toppled on top of him. A voice echoed over the din, "Someone help Hoofstadter!"

Nick shook his head as he followed the sounds, Judy quickly catching up to him, then passing him as they saw a blur disappearing around a cubicle. Nick paused to help the Bison out from underneath the bookcase. "What's wrong with Mark?" the bison huffed as he got to his hooves. Nick quickly shrugged before heading off to follow his partner.

We just need to stop him before he hurts someone…

Another crash sounded from the lab tables nearby. Nick cringed.

...or himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, whenever I copy and paste the chapter here, it deletes all of my line spacing...anyone know how to keep it from doing that?


	13. The Chase Begins

A rabbit...why did of all of the mammals in the room did they have to be chasing a rabbit?!

Nick was panting hard as he dove after the smaller mammal, missing the bunny by just a few mere inches as it sprinted away. He growled, his patience running quite thin. His hindpaw was still bleeding from stepping on the broken glass from earlier, his not-yet-recovered ribs were aching, and now, nearly 15 minutes after the chase had begun, they were no closer to catching the savage scientist than when they had started.

Though, calling him a savage was sounding more and more ridiculous with each passing moment .

"Carrots, tell me again, why are we having to chase a mammal on nighthowlers? Don't they normally chase us?" He pushed himself off the ground, clutching his ribs in pain. He felt an immense amount of discomfort beginning to fill his gut.

He really shouldn't be doing this. He was going to tear a muscle or actually break one of his bruised ribs at this point. He stared at his partner, who was beginning to show signs of fatigue herself.

It wasn't everyday they had to chase a rabbit around that not only didn't want to be caught, but was hyped up on nighthowlers to boot.

"We need a new strategy," she breathed heavily, her paw wavering over her chest as Mark Sprintz dashed around another cubicle. They had learned his last name when the otter scientist had thought it would be a good idea to call his full name to see if it would snap the rabbit out of his nighthowler induced run.

It hadn't worked, yet both Nick and Judy thought his last name fit the rabbit quite well.

"You're telling me, Nick groaned, clutching at his chest. Yep, he was going to have to get the ice packs out again tonight. "I think it might also be a good idea that we cancel our visit to Ursula today. I think I've had my fill of physical therapy."

Judy trudged over to her partner, helping him right a nearby overturned chair that had been knocked over earlier in the chase, and sat the fox down on it. "So," Nick began, his breathing labored. "Have any ideas, Miss Academy running champion?"

"I wasn't running against animals at the academy who were hyped up on nighthowlers, Nick." Judy breathed out. "Besides, i just had my appendix removed a week ago, what's your excuse?" She had been at nearly a dead sprint for the past quarter hour and her heart was beating out of her chest while the pain in her side where the scar from the surgery was enormous. "We just need something to slow him down, otherwise we'll run him to death before we catch him at this rate."

"What do you mean?" Nick panted. They both heard another crash and an accompanying roar that the cheetah in the room had just missed catching the savage mammal and had crashed into something else.

"If a rabbit pushes their endurance too far for too long, it's not a good idea. Sometimes the adrenaline can block out the pain that tells you to stop, it can cause some serious medical problems." replied Judy.

Nick gave her a questioning eyebrow. "How serious?"

Judy grimace in a way that had nothing to do with her sore muscles. "Serious like cardiac arrest from the muscle working so hard it tears itself apart."

Nick's eyes bugged out. "Your heart stops?! Are you serious, Judy?"

"Deadly serious," Judy continued. Nick ignored the play on words that he felt the rabbit hadn't even caught. "It happened to one of my father's, brother's, nephew's cousin's former roommate." Nick stared at her, his jaw agape.

"Wouldn't that just be your cousin then?"

Judy paused, "I guess it would be. That was just how Dad always told the story." She leaned against the chair as they heard another crash from further down the lab. "But that's beside the point. Usually, a rabbit can just feel when they've reached their limit, but if they keep pushing past that, they risk killing themselves by accident. I could feel myself getting close to that point a minute ago, and even with our recent injuries, I'm probably in better shape than a scientist who sits at a desk most of the day. If Mark is high on nighthowlers, he's probably past his stop-or-die point by now. We need to find a way to calm him down before he kills himself."

"Wait, you were just at that point?" Nick yelled.

"I stopped, ok? I know my limits."

"But..." Nick sputtered

"I'm fine, Nick." she glared at the fox. "Now we need to figure out how to stop him."

"How are we going to do that?" Nick sputtered, still horrified that Judy had admitted that she had neared the point of risking rabbit death. The idea made his stomach curl, which combined with the current pain he was in, was making him nauseous. "It isn't like we haven't been trying to calm him down. The instant he spots anyone, he bolts."

"I think I have an idea," Judy murmured as she hopped up onto a nearby desk, then from there onto a taller cabinet. From her new vantage point, she could see all the other scientists running around frantically trying to catch their coworker. She also saw that the cubicles divided the room nearly perfectly into three, narrow corridors, two on the walls and one straight down the middle. She finally located the Phil, the hippo from earlier who was leaning over catching his breath near the lab's workstations opposite of the kitchen area.

If I can get them over there, this might just work…

"Phil!" She hollered, grateful when he looked up and saw her. "Is there a way to get everyone over near where you are?"

The hippo nodded, walking slowly over to a phone on the wall and typed in a few numbers before a crackling sound came over the speakers on the ceiling.

"Willy, Jubatus, Waterton, Hoofstadter, please come over to the workstations." Judy watched as the other mammals slowly made their way towards where the hippopotamus was standing. Judy looked for where the rabbit might have gone, her ears turning slowly like tiny radar dishes, listening for the smallest sounds that could give their target away.

There you are! She grinned as she heard the soft pitter patter of rabbit paws on tile, hidden inside one of the cubicles near the middle aisle. She looked back down at her partner.

"Nick, can you make your way over to the kitchen area and see if you can find any buckets. Fill them up and dump them on the floor."

"I really don't want to tick Bogo off if we manage to flood out a multi-million dollar facility, so care to explain your plan further, Carrots? I don't have that type of cash with me since I started paying my taxes."

Judy laughed. At least he still has his humor in a situation like this. "If we can lead him over to the kitchen floor while it's wet, he'll either slow down or slip. He can't run if he can't grip the floor."

"Laziness, I like the sound of that!" Nick spun his wheeled chair around and began pushing himself down the corridor and into the kitchen area. Judy turned her attention back to the assembled scientists on the other side of the room as the sound of water flowing reached her upturned ears. "I want you to go two by two down each path and try to scare Mark down to the other side of the room, understand?"

The mammals nodded as they began putting themselves into groups. She smacked her head, dragging her paws over her eyes when they began bickering over who would pair up with who.

I'm surrounded by idiots.

"Pottamus, Waterton, you take the aisle next to the far wall!" The otter and hippo nodded and made their way to the far corridor of the room. "Willy, Jubatus," The coyote glanced at her while the cheetah seemed to freeze at the sound of her voice. "Take the middle! Hoofstadter, you can block the side nearest me by yourself, got it?" The bison nodded, stomping over to his position.

"Fluff, I think Lake Furzer is about ready for your plan!" Nick yelled out to his partner. He gave her a thumbs up as he began rolling the chair back to where she was directing everyone from.

"Now, on my signal," she raised her paw in the air. "I want all of you to advance down your corridor while making as much noise as you can, got it?" The assembled mammals nodded and, as she dropped her paw, they slowly made their way up the aisles, howling, whistling and causing all kinds of commotion as they went. Judy strained her ears, trying to filter out the din and locate where the rabbit might have gone. As the cheetah and coyote were nearly at a center cubicle, she heard rustling and saw Sprintz bolt down the aisle.

"He's in the center lane," she yelled, her voice beginning to grow hoarse from yelling and still feeling a bit out of breath from the running from earlier. These injuries were really slowing her down, normally it would take a lot more than this to tire her out. "Everyone, continue walking forward!"

Judy hopped down from her viewpoint, landing next to Nick, though the fox had to stabilize her as her legs nearly gave out beneath her. Nick shot her a worried look which she brushed off as she stood. The fox didn't seem convinced, but was already loading his tranquilizer with a new round as he pushed off his seat. "Well, I think I know the next part of your plan." He grinned, his smirk reaching his eyes.

"It's rabbit season."

Judy groaned. "Just try not to miss this time, Nick. Bogo will start taking the extra darts out of your paycheck."

"Hey, I only missed that one time!" Nick shouted.

"Still, you missed! How could you have missed, the rhino was three feet in front of you!"

Nick started down the aisle after his partner. "It was in Tundratown! I was cold and shivering, that's why!"

The pair squeezed their way past Hoofstadter, trying to sneak around the rabbit when it finally appeared from the center corridor. They made it just as the bunny zoomed out and onto the now slick floor. Poor Sprintz continued his uncontrolled slide before crashing in a heap into the cabinets against the wall.

They heard a loud squeak as they padded forward, stepping carefully across the wet floor. They saw a trickle of red join the streams of liquid pooling around the rabbit as he thrashed on the floor, trying to gain a foothold. Nick raised his tranquilizer, preparing to fire when he felt Judy's paw on his arm.

"Wait a minute..."

The rabbit slowing stopped spasming until it lay perfectly still. Judy approached carefully while Nick held back, covering her with his dart gun. As the rest of the scientists appeared from the hallways surrounding the cubicles.

They saw movement from the rabbit, accompanied by a wearied groan.

"Ugh...what happened. Why is my nose bleeding. And why is the floor all wet?"

Nick and Judy stared at each other before they took a few hesitant steps over the wet floor, inching closer to the rabbit.

"Mr. Sprintz, can you understand me?" Judy asked, her paw still holding the tranquilizer gun.

The rabbit looked at her and groaned, his eyes still shut. "Of course I can, why wouldn't I? And can someone explain why I'm sitting in a puddle?"

Judy holstered her weapon, cautiously, thoroughly confused as to what was going on. She looked back at Nick who just shrugged his shoulders.

This is making less sense by the second...Judy thought.

It was then that the doors to the lab burst open and several officers flooded into the room, including their new partners Delgato and Fangmeyer, with their tranquilizers drawn. Delgato jogged up to them as his partner began sweeping the area with the other officers.

"Officers Hopps, Wilde," Delgato started. "We received a call saying you were pursuing a savage mammal, where is the savage located?"

"Nick patted the tired looking rabbit with the lab coat on. "He's right here, sir."

The tiger looked from Nick to the rabbit, then back to the fox, his eyes lowering. "What do you mean, Wilde."

"He means," Judy interrupted as she helped lift the other rabbit to his feet. "That this mammal had gone savage, but somehow just came out of it when he clunked his head here." She pointed towards the slight indentation in the cupboards next to them.

"Don't ask," Nick quipped. "We don't know what to make of it either." Fangmeyer jogged up to join the group after finishing searching the rest of the lab.

"Delgato, we've secured the premises, no savage animals have been found." The tiger glanced at the wolf, a confused expression on his face.

"Wait, I went savage?"

All the mammals glanced at the rabbit who was starting to tremble, before his eyes rolled up behind his eyelids and he fell backwards with a splash onto the wet floor.

~~---**---~~---**---~~

It had taken an extra hour for the forensics team to arrive at the lab and begin their analysis. During that time, Bogo had called and ripped into them for causing such a scene at such a major industry in Zootopia. Judy finally managed to calm the water buffalo down, somewhat, after explaining what happened. Yet, before they had hung up, he left them with a warning that they better be more careful in the future.

Now the pair were sitting on chairs just outside the lab, getting checked over by an antelope EMT. Judy was holding back her laughter while looking at her partner, who, thanks to the very safety-conscious and not at all teasing EMTs, , had gotten large bags of ice taped to his stomach and ribs, as well as bandages for his other cuts and scrapes from stepping on the glass.

"You look ridiculous, though I have to say, those ice packs match your sense of style. I bet they'd go well with your Hawaiian shirts too."

Nick glared at her, though she could see a smirk breaking through. "I'll have you know, Carrots, that if this got out, it would be the new fashion in a week." He placed his paws behind his head as he leaned against the back of his fhair, his eyes closing. "My choice in clothing and health-related accessories is flawless."

Judy laughed, then leaned back against the chair herself and sighed deeply. Her side still was aching along her appendectomy stitches, and she mentally reproved herself again for pushing as hard as she had. Peeking at Nick, she saw the fox's eyes were closed, but a slight grimace was etched into his features and his ears were lying flat against his head. He was hurting a lot more than she was, if it was bad enough to break through his usual indifferent mask. Judy sighed.

This whole case was turning out a lot differently than she had ever expected.

Why didn't Sprintz attack us, that's what savage mammals DO, isn't it?

Judy pondered the thought for a while. In all other cases when a mammal had gone savage, they had attacked the closest animal to them, or had been subdued while trying. This was different though; Sprintz hadn't even tried to attack anybody, and there had been no shortage of targets in that lab. The rabbit had done the exact opposite of what they expected, of what every mammal previously exposed to Nighthowlers had done.. Which brought her back to her original question; why?

Could it be the method of exposure? The pollen was normally breathed in by mammals who were too close to a high concentration of the flowers. Sprintz had eaten the pollen rather than inhaled it, that could cause the difference. Maybe even how the pollen was applied to the carrots had changed the effects it had on mammals, or because it was mixed with the carrot?

Judy sighed. This wasn't her area of expertise, she was a beat cop, not a pharmacologist. Anything she came up with was at best conjecture. Better to wait on the lab results, all she was accomplishing was thinking in circles and raising her blood pressure from stress. Leave it for CSI to explore for today. She and Nick could talk about it tomorrow.

"It's strange he didn't attack, huh Carrots."

She opened her eyes, not even realizing she had closed them and looked at her partner, who was eyeing her with bemused curiosity.

"How did you know…"

"Your ears, Carrots." The fox pointed a claw at them. "Whenever they drop in front of your face like they did just before I spoke, you have something vexing on the mind. Judging by how, peculiar, today has been, I took a guess at what it might be."

A soft smile graced Judy's lips as she gently pushed her ears behind her head again. "Really?"

Nick nodded, "You would be terrible at poker, Judy." He laughed as she gently punched him in the side, careful to avoid the ice packs and areas she knew he was hurting. He threw his hands up in the air as he laughed. "Just trying to save you some money here."

They settled into a calming quietness, even as medical personnel and the forensics team from Precinct 1 were rushing madly in and out of the lab, now corralled off with yellow caution tape.

"So, what do you think, Nick?" Judy stated after a while. "Why would Sprintz be affected by those tainted carrots in that way?"

"Beats me. Though I'm rather a fan of savage animals that want to run away from us, instead of trying to kill us. I'll take ice packs and a few bandages over a trip to the hospital any day."

"How are you doing?" Judy asked tentatively, her eyes resting on her partner, who was beginning to shiver slightly under all the cold packs wrapped around him. Rather like a mummy who was a fan of extreme air conditioning.

"Like a pawpsicle," he replied. "I wonder if this is what it feels like to be iced by Mr Big?" He poked at one of the packs around his stomach. "Think you can help me take at least one of these off? I'm pretty sure I have frostbite under some of these."

"I'd leave those on if I were you, Wilde," a voice interrupted.

Both looked up to see Delgato and his partner, Fangmeyer, approaching them. The tiger laughed as Nick's ears drooped. "Stay frosty, kid. I'd rather have you keep them on and be a snowmammal than have your doctor coming after me once you hurt yourself."

Nick harumphed, crossing his arms with a smirk. "Well, if I turn into a snowmammal, just make sure Hopps here doesn't eat my snout when it turns into a carrot."

Fangmeyer, the white wolf next to Delgato, howled, as Judy huffed in annoyance.

As soon as the air cleared from their laughter, the tiger looked back at the rabbit and fox. "We've only gotten a few statements so far, still a few solid hours of that excitement left to go. Just from what we have so far, though, it sure seems like you two have had quite the explosive day."

Judy groaned as Nick snickered. "They told you about that, did they?" Nick queried, eyeing his partner who had her paws cupped around her head, her eyes as wide as saucers. Delgato nodded.

"Don't worry, Hopps. I'm actually impressed by how, reserved, you were after what they pulled." Judy was looking more mortified by the second. "We know you're worried about what the Chief will think, but, take it from us. I think he'll actually be more impressed by your actions than angry. He doesn't take well to idiots threatening his officers."

Judy let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She looked up at Delgato, a sly smile on the detective's face. "Thank you." she more whispered than anything, though all three of her fellow officers managed to hear her.

"Back to the case at hand though," Fangmeyer interrupted, glancing at his partner. "It seems like forensics will be taking a while in there; that lab was trashed pretty well." Both Nick and Judy cringed a little at the last remark. The wolf noticed, but continued as if he hadn't. "We just finished with our own case a few hours ago, so Bogo assigned us to come out here to check up on you two. We were already on the way when we got your emergency call. Seeing as you two aren't in the best of condition," the wolf ignored Judy's glare. "We don't mind finishing off the witness statements here and babysitting CSI. You two can call it a day."

The rabbit was about to protest when Nick waved his hand, cutting off her protest. "I think that is an excellent idea." The doe turned to him, her mouth ajar. "There is just one more thing we need to do while here, though."

Both Delgato and Fangmeyer looked at the fox with raised eyebrows. Nick almost laughed, but remembered how much that currently hurt do to his aching chest.

"There should be a Furzer van parked somewhere on the property that we need to take into evidence. It was the one used to bring Mr Shepherd, the first victim in this case, to his apartment in the city. I doubt whoever used it signed it out officially, but we might be able to get some evidence out of it that could lead us to the puppetmaster behind all this."

Delgato pulled a pad of paper and pen out from a pouch on his hip. "The license is PXR A113." Nick grinned as the tiger finished writing the note. "Thank you Officer Wilde, we'll check up on that now." The tiger took a few steps back while pulling a radio out of his pocket while Fangmeyer walked up and kneeled down to be at eye level with Nick and Judy.

"You two can't seem to keep away from trouble, can you?" The wolf shook his head as he laughed to himself at the quizzical expressions his coworkers were giving him. "Look," he finally said, recovering from his laughter. "Delgato and I aren't here to replace you, let's get that straight first off."

Nick looked at Judy who was surprisingly calm, considering how much she wore her emotions on her sleeves.

"Bogo has us here just to lend a hand, you two will still be in charge of the investigation. The chief…" the wolf paused, a sly smile forming. "He cares about you two quite a bit, though he'll never admit to it. Usually he is the last person to let anybody bend the rules, so for him to allow you guys to get away with as much as you do, means he trusts you quite a bit. Just don't go getting yourselves blown up anymore, alright?"

Fangmeyer paused, turning around as he heard his partner walking back towards him. As the wolf stood, he placed a paw on both Judy and Nick's shoulders, giving them a wink as his partner motioned for him to follow the tiger back into the lab.

Judy and Nick both turned to look at each other.

"That was oddly...kind." Nick finally stammered. Judy shook her head.

"As much as I'd like to take that advice, I still think we should clean up a few loose ends here before we go, maybe even finish a few reports back at the station as well while everything is still fresh in our minds."

Nick grimaced. "How about you finish up the reports, while I take their advice and take the rest of the day off?" His green eyes were pleading with her own as he leaned towards her. She shoved his muzzle away, laughing a bit while rolling her eyes.

"Not a chance Frosty," she giggled. "I'm not letting you get away without finishing your paperwork, again."

The pair climbed out of their chairs and began walking back towards the lab, poking their heads in to make sure Delgato and Fangmeyer were out of sight before heading in. Walking towards a group of voices near the experimentation portion of the lab, they ran across one of the forensic experts, a tall sable antelope speaking with both Dr. Willy and Phil. The two scientists didn't notice the vulpine and doe approaching them until they were only a few feet away.

"Ah, Officers Wilde, Hopps. What can we do for you?" Both scientists were smiling at them.

"Well, we're just finishing up here before Detectives Delgato and Fangmeyer take over," Judy began. "So if either of you, or anyone else manages to find out anything more about why Mr. Shepherd was targeted, and what happened with his experiments, please give us a call." Judy handed both of them a card from a pouch on her belt. Nick did the same, nodding his head as the animals took them.

"Thank you, Officers. We'll be sure to let you know of any developments on our side of this investigation."Dr Willy extended a paw to Nick, then Judy. "We all are putting aside our other experiments at the moment to find out what is going on here."

"We'll keep in touch," Phil added, searching his pockets of his lab coat until he found what he was looking for. He passed out a business card to each of the officers. "In case you need anything more. Archie was my friend. Anything I can do to help you bring justice for him, just let me know."

Judy nodded at the hippo. "We will." The pair turned and with Nick giving them a final lazy salute, they exited the lab, heading towards the doors at the end of a nearby hallway. They walked out the double doors and for a few minutes more before Nick broke the silence.

"Carrots, do you remember how to get out of here?"

~~---**---~~---**---~~

After finally finding a Furzer employee, Judy and Nick had managed to stagger their way to an exit and into the parking lot as a large ZPD flatbed truck rolled up to the building. They stopped to talk with the driver, letting the elephant know that he would be looking for Detectives Delgato and Fangmeyer inside. And with that, they trudged over to their cruiser, slamming the doors shut; each letting out a big sigh as they sat in the cushioned seats.

"What a day," Nick yawned, stretching his arms as he smacked his lips together. "I think we've hit our quota for meeting savage animals for the rest of our lives. What say you, Carrots?"

Judy shook her head. "I met my quota as soon as we saw Manchas go savage. I was hoping that would be the last time as well."

"Well, we can't all be that lucky, I guess. Even if one of us does have two rabbit feet."

Judy smiled and glanced at her partner, whose mouth opened wide in a large yawn. "You should probably get some sleep, Nick. You look exhausted."

The fox glanced at Judy from under half lidded eyes. "Wait, you're telling me to sleep on the job?"

Judy smiled, "What I'm saying, is that nothing is going to happen on the drive back to the ZPD, so get some rest. We'll need to fill out our reports and let Ursula know we can't do our physical therapy today before we can clock out. Catch a few winks now so you can help me get through all that. You need it."

"You're the boss, Carrots." Nick gave her a lazy salute, then slumped into his seat, pulling his sunglasses over his eyes.

"Am I the boss? Yes. Yes I am." Judy smiled as she saw a smirk appear on her friend's face before his head slowly dropped towards his chest. In what seemed a few seconds, he was out, his chest slowly rising and falling. Still tired, but feeling a little extra spark, Judy shifted the cruiser into gear and pulled out of the lot, heading back to city center, making sure to drive extra smoothly for her sly fox.

After the day they had, she didn't mind the peace and quiet either.

Judy pulled into the parking lot of the ZPD and into their usual spot. Killing the engine, she leaned back into her seat and closed her eyes for a moment, trying to gather the energy to get out of the car and back on her feet. The seat was suddenly feeling really comfortable...an unexpected sound broke the silence and startled Judy from her tired musing.

Glancing at the fox in the seat next to her, she realized the sound was Nick quietly snoring. She had no idea when that had started, it hadn't been noticeable over the cruiser's engine. The fox was still out cold, though at some point in the drive, his sunglasses had begun to slip off his muzzle and were now in serious danger of falling the floor of the cruiser.

She watched him for a while, enjoying the peaceful look he currently had, which she had to say, looked much better than his casual smirk ever could. The fox tossed in his sleep, curling up slightly as his long tail flicked itself around his body like a blanket. She suddenly began wondering what it might feel like, to be wrapped in such a soft looking blanket. Nick turned again, and his glasses lost their ongoing battle with gravity, falling to the floor of the cruiser. Judy giggled quietly as Nick's paw sleepily fumbled towards his nose, feeling for the non-existent sunglasses that were now missing in action.

Judy shoved a paw to her mouth, muffling further laughter as the fox's paw continued it's unconscious search for the missing sunglasses, waving at the air near his nose. He jostled again in his sleep, curling up slightly as he brought his hindpaws closer to his chest, one leg twitching every few seconds.

The doe wondered if he had restless paw syndrome, as she continued noticing the movement for a few minutes. She thought about waking him, but stopped, her paw already outstretched to gently nudge him away. Due to his movements while asleep, his head was nearly in Judy's lap, resting across the center console. Her paw halted, hovering over the fox's head. Instead of poking him awake as she usually did, she lowered her paw over his head, gently stroking the fox between his ears.

Nick 'mmm'ed as he jostled a little at the soft touch, a grin spreading across his mouth. His right paw reached up and seemed to be grabbing at her own paw, before he settled back down into restful slumber.

Judy glanced down at the sunglasses, now lying on the floor by Nick's seat. She should probably gather those before waking her partner, she decided. If he accidentally stomped on them while waking, it wouldn't improve his mood, and Nick was already a fairly grumpy mammal when he first awoke.

Careful not to jostle her partner, Judy leaned down over the console, reaching for the glasses, which coincidentally, brought her extremely close to his face, leaving her almost nose to nose with the sleeping fox.

He looked so peaceful...she thought, a smile gracing her lips as well.

...you should kiss him.

The thought had barreled its way into the forefront of her mind, taking her completely by surprise. Judy's eyes flared wide, making her almost painfully aware of just how close she was to kissing Nick already. She desperately reached back with her paws for something to grab, to pull herself away from the emotionally compromising position she found herself in. Her paw finding something on the console to grasp, she wrenched herself back upright, away from Nick's still innocently sleeping face.

Unfortunately, what she had grasped to pull herself was the control switch for the cruiser's pursuit siren. As the noise blared out, echoing extra loudly in confines of the parking lot, Judy winced violently, one paw yanking her sensitive ears against the back of her head, the other scrambling frantically for the siren controls when something yanked on her arm...

Nick jumped at the sound of the siren, his arms flailing in the small confines of the car, and his instincts of waking up to many early morning alarms kicking in before he even opened his eyes. His arm reached out to grab his alarm clock at the same time Judy's paw found the switch.

Usually, when Nick awoke in the mornings, his reaction was to grab his alarm and stuff it under his pillow, to silence it, as that would also unplug the infernal contraption. His paw grabbed what he thought was his alarm and gave it a good yank while his other paw moved about, trying to find his pillow.

His alarm clock squeaked, and suddenly a warm, furry and squirming weight landed squarely on top of him.

Nick's eyes shot open and he looked down at where he thought his alarm clock was, only to see the large amethyst eyes of his partner staring back into his own, barely inches in front of his muzzle. He had one paw wrapped her waist, holding her tightly against his body and another holding onto her arm. A traitorous part of his mind gave a smug sound of approval and pointed out that the resulting position would be best described as...rather intimate.

Both Nick and Judy were frozen in position, stunned at the unexpected intimacy and desperately trying to figure out what to do next. Nick could see a rapidly growing blush on Judy's cheeks and ears, visible even through her fur. He was in a slightly better position, his red fur hiding his own embarrassment as he realized he must have dragged Judy towards him as he woke. Although, that smug part of his brain announced, he wasn't exactly complaining about the situation they were now in.

Nick was suddenly transfixed by the bunny laying against his chest. Their close proximity allowed him to even feel her rapidly beating heart against his own, her quick, hitched breaths tickling his neck as she looked up at him. He felt his own pulse quicken and he let out a nervous laugh. With his arm wrapped around her, he felt a little of the tension in her relax. It was then, a new thought burst into his mind.

Is she enjoying this?

This was something new to him, though he couldn't say he was surprised now that he thought about it. Thinking back on their latest experiences, Nick couldn't help but notice that Judy had stuck herself out there quite a few times for him, even when she didn't have to while he had done the same for her. He could chalk it up to them just being good cops and great partners, but…

The memory of that night in the hospital not too long ago smashed into that theory.

Maybe...that wasn't all just the pain killers they were on. He couldn't remember most of that night and how she had acted, but then again, he was pretty out of it and was lucky to even have that memory, albeit it was still quite hazy.

Nick stared down again at Judy, a newfound thought working its way through his mind. If there was a chance that she liked him…

Might as well see what happens.

"Wow, Judy. I didn't know you liked me in that way." He chuckled as she tried to extract herself from his embrace, ending up only pushing herself closer to her partner. She froze when she felt the tip of his nose on the top of head, and slowly looked up.

"Are you trying to kiss me, Carrots? Because it sure seems like you are getting a bit close and pawsy."

Judy's eyes widened as she finally managed to pull herself from his grip, Nick laughed as the rabbit placed a soft punch into his arm as she turned away from him. She could tell there was no hiding the blush across her cheeks as it now had spread all the way to the tips of her ears.

Curse my dumb bunny emotions, Judy thought as she heard Nick snickering beside her. She pulled her ears over her cheeks, hoping somehow the move would cover most of the blush.

"You bunnies, always so emotional."

It appeared that her plan had not worked.

"Dumb fox."

"Apparently I'm your dumb fox," he snickered.

Judy was glad she was facing away from her partner as her ears felt like they were on fire and she knew there was now no way she could hide the blushing under her fur.

"Let's just head inside. We need to catch up with Bogo." She kept her head turned away from his view as she opened her door and left Nick alone in the cruiser.

He stayed in the car as his partner's door shut. Nick needed to think for a while. He put a paw up to this chin, scratching it as he thought. This was certainly a new development between them. If you would have asked him just as soon as two weeks ago, that Judy, his partner, and a bunny to boot, might be interested in him? Even now it seemed preposterous, but…

...her eyes spoke volumes about how it might not be too crazy an idea after all.

If there is even a small chance she likes me...

He grinned and leaned his seat back. Closing his eyes, he breathed in deeply, then let out a contented sigh. The fox wasn't 100% positive about his theory, but, if it turned out to be true, he wouldn't mind it in the least bit.

Now he just had to let Judy figure things out for herself. And maybe, just maybe, prod things along a little.


	14. Partners

Nick exited the vehicle, still a bit bemused by what had just happened. Thoughts and ideas were flooding through the foxes mind, as he tried to figure out what to do with his new found knowledge. If he acted on his suspicions, and he was wrong, it could destroy the great partnership he had with Judy. If he acted on his suspicions and he was right, a whole new beautiful chapter of their lives could begin.

If he didn't act on his suspicions though...

_Would our friendship still be the same?_

The thought gnawed at Nick's mind. _'No',_ he finally thought. _After what just happened in the car, things will never be the same again._

Nick clawed at his ears in frustration as he walked, oblivious to the officers around him who gave him several odd looks. No matter what he did, things were changing, and he wasn't sure if it would be for better or for worse.

He rubbed at his eyes, wondering what his partner would think of his thoughts. He knew what he hoped she would think.

 _'In the words of Gazelle,'_ Nick thought to himself. _'Try everything._

The fox approached the back entrance of the ZPD, pushing on the door handle to let him inside. What he didn't expect, was the door refusing to move, and him walking muzzle-first into the immobile glass. He jumped back, rubbing a paw to his nose and glared at the _'pull'_ next to the door. He grumbled as he now _pulled_ at the handle, letting himself in, only to hear the snickering of a familiar rabbit next to him.

"Nice going there, Slick. Now apologize to the door for giving it an unwanted kiss." Judy was leaning against the wall, covering her mouth with her paw in at least an attempt to hide her laughter.

"Of course I'm slick" Nick grinned, pulling his shades lower so he could look at his partner. "The door didn't even see it coming...and I think it liked it."

Nick was enjoying watching the flustered rabbit in front of him, a blush climbing up her ears quickly.

"You're incorrigible…" Judy huffed. "By the way, _Slick_ , the door wanted me to mention you drooled on your tie"

Nick's eyes widened as they darted down to his tie. _Oh crackers._

He could hear Judy laughing as Nick patted at the stain, hoping to remove at least some of it. Judy jumped up and quickly tussled his ears with her paw before bounding off towards the front desk. "Come on, Francine told me that Clawhauser was asking for us." She waved him forward as it became Nick's turn to roll his eyes.

"I'm sure he probably just received his vintage Gazelle trading cards and wants to show them off, Fluff." The fox started after her, though his paw went to the top of his head where Judy has jostled the fur. _She's never done that before_...he mused. _Or had she?_ In the barely-remembered dream, before Judy had awoken him with the cruiser's siren, he could remember a small grey paw, reaching up to his head and stroking his ears. It had felt so nice…

 _Maybe I wasn't dreaming_...he thought as his paw lingered on the spot, trying to recapture that feeling.. Shaking his head, he brushed the ruffled fur back down and sped up his steps.

Nick caught up to his partner who was waiting for him around the corner, chatting with Officer Wolford, a grey wolf, who was congratulating her on her and Nick's investigation so far. The pair quickly moved past and began heading towards the reception desk.

"So, did Officer Trunkaby say anything about why Clawhauser was looking for us?"

"No, she didn't," Judy replied. "Though she sounded like it was urgent."

"He would have called us on the radio if it were something bad." He tapped the pocket on his belt where his own radio was placed. "I'm still putting my money on something to do with Gazelle, though."

They rounded the final turn and saw the large reception area, with its equally hefty officer in charge of the front desk. The cheetah seemed to be swaying and dancing to a beat only he could hear, and Nick could barely make out the outline of two wires leading to buds in the cheetah's ears. He groaned.

"Looks like I'm right, Fluff." Nick lightly jabbed his partner with his elbow while pointing to the cheetah. Judy's eyes narrowed in frustration. She really hoped he wasn't looking for them just so he could talk about his favorite singer...again. "Must be a new single or something," Nick mused. "It isn't too late for us to just turn around and walk away."

At that moment, the fates seemed to conspire against the duo as the cheetah's dancing turned him enough to notice the fox and rabbit walking slowly towards him. His eyes widened and he quickly motioned with his paw for them to hurry over.

"Me and my big mouth," Nick muttered under his breath as Judy snickered. "I think you can handle this by yourself, can't you? I need some coffee." He made to turn for the break room when Judy caught his tie and stopped his escape.

"Oh no you don't, Nick. Not again." She glared at him and, tightening her grip on his tie, dragged him over to the front desk.

Clawhauser's antics were a handful for anyone, even though the entire station liked him and he was excellent at his job. Judy tried her best at being hospitable to the large feline, but even she had her limits of feigning interest in the latest gossip about the popstar, Gazelle. Nick had made a deal with her one day to just have her listen to him, not saying a word and see how long he could go on about the singing antelope. If she lasted at least half an hour, Nick would buy her a week's worth of carrot smoothies at her favorite diner.

Judy had won, but she didn't think the price was worth it.

He had laughed his head off at the results. She hadn't looked that annoyed since Nick and her had tied during a competition to see who could place the most parking tickets in a single day, only due to him finding a sloth convention downtown. Clawhauser had gone on unabated for 37 minutes and 24 seconds before Judy couldn't stand it anymore and left silently and quickly, without the cheetah noticing. Nick had stayed a while longer and found the it was another ten minutes before Clawhauser noticed she was gone.

That memory was in both their minds as they approached the front desk.

"Oh, Nick! Judy! Glad you're here!" The cheetah was smiling, the cords from his ear buds swaying as he moved. _When was he not_...Nick thought amusedly. "I've been meaning to talk to you guys, but my radio system went down a while ago." He stared at the microphone on the front desk. "I don't know what's wrong with it either."

"Well, we're here now," Judy stated, rocking back and forth on her paws. "What did you need to talk to us about?"

"I mean, I checked to see if it was unplugged, but it isn't. Took me several minutes to get back up into my chair. Didn't realize how far down the plugs for this thing are."

Both Judy and Nick looked at each other, their eyebrows raised as the cheetah seemed to be ignoring them. Judy shrugged her shoulders as Nick turned his attention back to the cheetah. "Uh, Benji? You said you had something for us?"

"And while I was down there, I found a box of donuts I didn't even know I had. Haha! It was amazing! Especially since I had just run out a few minutes before."

"Uh, Ben? What were you needing to talk to us about?" Nick was staring at the cheetah, his usual calm expression growing slightly annoyed. Judy was growing equally as frustrated, her ears slowly lowering behind her head and her expression changing to the same stare he saw her hold at the DMV long ago. The fox began hearing the rapid thumping of her foot against the tile floor. Judy was staring at the cheetah, her paw over her face. She had finally noticed the ear buds that were currently blocking their voices out.

Even when he had something important to tell them, Gazelle would always be there.

"...I'm so glad that box was there, though. Can you imagine what would happen if I didn't have any food while at work? I mean, haha, wow! That would be a horrible! Though not as bad as missing a Gazelle concert would be. I wonder when her next concert will be."

Judy nudged Nick in his side and pointed up at the cheetah's ears. Nick slapped a paw over his face as Judy jumped up onto the desk from the ground. She leaned forward towards the cheetah who was still staring at the microphone, with such a miserable expression, all the while talking to it, and pulled at the strings going towards his ears. The ear buds he had in popped out and startled the mammal who jolted up in his seat. He turned towards Judy who was now eye level with him, forcing a smile and waving at him.

"Hey there, you said you had something for us?" Nick could tell she was still annoyed, but the large feline didn't seem to notice.

"Oh! Yes, yes, yes. Of course!" he yelled, causing Judy to take a step back and cover her ears. She nearly stumbled as the back of her foot caught the lip of the desk, though she managed to catch herself before she fell backwards.

"Spit it out, big guy." Nick smirked, trying to stifle his laughter as Judy re-balanced herself on the desk. She looked backwards at him, giving him the 'I dare you to laugh' gaze. He chuckled in response.

"Yes, the Chief wants to see you immediately! He said that it had to do with your case, something big."

Judy twirled to face her partner. _Could they have found something from Furzer already?_ She bounded off the desk, jumping right over her partner who ducked instinctively as her feet flew over him. Nick saluted the cheetah.

"Thanks for the chat. It was lovely, Benji!" He then turned and followed the doe as she made her way towards the stairs to Bogo's office.

Nick caught up to her right as she reached Bogo's imposing door. She reached out her paw to knock, when they heard a booming voice from inside. "About time you two showed up. Get in here, now!"

Both involuntarily shivered at the sound of the water buffalo's voice. It was filled with both an urgency and anger, which was never a good sign. Nick opened the door, glad that they had finally installed a lower handle that he could reach without jumping, and waved for Judy to go in first. The rabbit walked in, followed quickly by the fox.

"Sit.."

The water buffalo hadn't even looked up from the paperwork in his hooves as they entered. They made their way to the oversized chair, with Nick quickly helping Judy up, as always. The buffalo finally looked up at them as they finally were seated.

"No other way to say this, so I'll be blunt," Bogo snorted. "We've located the bodies from the threatening photos you received."

Both sets of eyes widened as Judy and Nick looked in shock at their boss. "Sir, where were they found, and by whom?" Nick queried, knowing the question was just forming on the tip of his partners tongue as well.

Bogo sighed, his shoulders visibly dropping. "They were found by a group of kids who skipped school to go exploring the Tiveden forest, on the edge of Tundratown." Judy's face dropped and even the edges of Nick's mouth dropped. Judy glanced at her partner, whose eyes were flickering back in forth, as if trying to recall some old memory. She placed her paw over his, and he jolted, just barely. His eyes met hers, and softened, as he turned his paw over to hold onto hers. Bogo hadn't even noticed the exchange.

"They ran back into town, screaming their heads off about dead mammals in the woods. The media got there at the same time we did. The cat is out of the bag on this case, now, and the media is in a frenzy over these murders. I just got off the phone from the mayor's office, and he wants to be informed on this case as it progresses." Bogo glared at his two officers, more so out of irritation from having to deal with media and city hall than because of them.

"Why would city hall want to be involved in this, sir?" Judy asked, her paw extending towards the Chief. "As bad as this looks, we've had murders in the city before but when I looked over those case files to prepare for this one, I never recalled seeing the mayor getting involved before."

"Do you remember what were in the pictures, Officer Hopps?"

The rabbit nodded, though a sick feeling was gnawing at her stomach. "Yes, a fox and hare."

"Do you remember what they were wearing?"

A pit opened up in her stomach. She remembered how the fox had been wearing an outfit that resembled Nick's the first time she had met him, and how the hare had been wearing an outfit very similar to the one she wore to work each day.

"One of the children, a young fox kit," Bogo turned his attention to Nick, "ran from the scene screaming and crying that a fox and rabbit had been killed and to call the police. By the time the media got there, the other children and their parents were saying that two police mammals, a fox and a rabbit had been killed and they needed to call someone for help. The media were on-scene when the bodies were picked up by the coroner. Not close enough to see details, but close enough that it looks like a police uniform on the rabbit victim."

The pit in Judy's stomach seemed to grow to encompass her whole insides. She stared at Nick, her mouth agape. The fox swallowed, though he managed to hide most of his shock besides his tell, the slight twitch of his ears.

"Now you see why the mayor is involved. The first media reports that came out were all about a fox and hare being murdered. Then they released video footage that makes it look like the hare is in police uniform. A dead rabbit in 'police uniform' along side a fox… it didn't take long for everybody to decide that meant the two of you." Bogo sighed heavily, pinching the tip of his nose with his hoof. "This whole case has spiralled out of control into a media disaster."

Nick and Judy were too stunned to comment. They knew the ramifications of what Bogo had told them. Judy turned her head towards her partner again, seeing that he was already looking down at her, his green eyes filled with a deep sadness he was trying hard to hide. He looked away towards the window, hiding his eyes from her lingering gaze. She turned back to the Chief, working on gaining her composure.

"Sir, what would you have us do?"

"I know you hate dealing with the media, Hopps, and I am usually against sending you to do a press conference. However," Bogo lowered his hoof from his nose with a heavy sigh. "Desperate times call for desperate measures. I want you and Wilde to go talk with the press waiting outside the precinct building on the front steps. Answer a few questions, prove that you're not dead, then leave. Got it?"

Judy gulped. _A press conference, us?_ She was already beginning to feel nervous even at the thought of having to speak in front of the media again. Bogo saw her nervousness and grunted.

"I know you don't like this, Hopps. I don't like it either, but, I need you to go down there to help alleviate their fears. You're both still very popular with the public, and they need heroes. Calm their fear and show the city you both are still alive. Afterwards I want you to head to the Ice Box for the coroner's and CSI report. Then go home. Delgato and Fangmeyer can handle anything else that might happen. You two have had a long enough day as is, and I don't need Ursula riding up my tail for letting two injured cops loose on an investigation when they should be resting. Understood?"

Judy nodded, contemplating their assignment. The city's crime lab and coroner's office were grouped together in a government building complex in Tundratown. Officially known as the Forensic & Medical Analysis Unit, most of the ZPD just called it the 'Ice Box', both for the cold temperature in Tundratown (and in the lab) and for the building's boxy appearance. She turned to Nick, who was staring out the window, seemingly lost in thought. She pulled her paw from his grasp and nudged him gently with it. He turned, and Judy caught a quick glimpse of his face as the fox nodded.

"Alright. You know what to do, dismissed." With that, Bogo waved the pair from his office with a grunt. The two jumped from the chair and headed towards the door.

 

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The pair headed towards the stairs, away from Bogo's office. Judy had her arms crossed in front of her, a nervous expression biting at the corner of her mouth. A paw raised to her mouth as they reached the stairs, and from their vantage point were able to see a growing crowd of reporters outside the front doors of the ZPD.

"Didn't think so many would be here so soon," Nick muttered, scanning the assembled crowd. He figured it was the wrong thing to say as soon as he saw Judy's ears drop, mentally smacking himself before laying a paw on the rabbit's shoulder, feeling the tension in her. She must be incredibly nervous.

"Hey, it'll be ok." Nick whispered, as he began rubbing her shoulder with his paw.

"How do you know that, Nick? You remember my previous press conference. I'm not good in front of crowds, and I broke the city last time." She stared up at him, the anxiety clearly showing in her eyes. He shook his head and sad down at the top of the steps, patting the space next to him.

"Come here, Carrots."

"Nick, we have to get down there, what are you doing?" Judy was staring at him. "We'll get in trouble with Bogo! He told us to get down there quickly and answer their questions and.." She began pulling at the fox's arm to get him to move. "...we have to get going."

"Judy."

His voice stopped her instantly. His green eyes were watching her, his smile calming her more than she cared to admit. His paw was still on the floor next to him, and Judy silently sat down as he moved his paw, giving her room to sit.

As soon as she was next to him, he wrapped his arm around her, causing her to tense up momentarily, before relaxing. The fox chuckled and she couldn't help but feel an embarrassed blush creeping up her ears.

"Remember my advice from before?" Nick stated, casually looking at the crowd in front of the precinct.

"The whole, answer their question with your own question, then answer that question?"

Nick chuckled, "Yes, that advice."

"You saw how that worked out last time," she replied, her ears drooping behind her as her paws fell over her knees. She turned to look at him. "I still don't know how you were able to forgive me for what I said that day."

"Water under the bridge, Carrots." Nick replied. "You were put into a bad situation by a mayor who set you up to fail. You can't blame yourself for that."

"But I was the one who said all those awful things," Judy replied, her voice cracking a little. "What if I blow this as well. I get so nervous when it comes to public speaking, I used to be good at it, but ever since..."

"I seem to recall your last public speech went quite well at the academy."

Judy looked up at him, her eyes widening a little. "That was different."

"How was it different, Judy?"

She lowered her head, though Nick could still see her eyes darting this way and that as her mind searched for an answer. The rabbit sighed, blinking once before turning back to face Nick.

"You were there."

"And how did having a certain handsome looking fox standing there help?" Nick was smiling as a tiny smile began to form on his friend's face as well.

"I was still nervous about the speech, but, just seeing you there, it..."

"Calmed my emotional little bunny down?"

She giggled as Nick gently squeezed her, all the while never taking his eyes off of her. "Did it calm me down?" Judy laughed, repeating a familiar mantra they shared, "Yes, yes it did."

"And I'll be right there next to you the entire time," he began, watching for her reaction. "I want you to know that you are good at public speaking and you can show these reporters that they aren't in charge, you control the situation instead. There is nobody in the entire station I would trust more with this press conference than you. You have shown the world what you are capable of. Now go out there and show them what a bunny from the burrows can do."

She watched him, a smile now fully formed, her teeth showing from behind the grin. "I guess we'd better, _hop_ to it then."

"That's my bunny," Nick laughed as he pushed himself up, while offering a paw to Judy. She took it as she stood and they began walking down the steps, paw in paw.

They reached the ground floor, walking past the front desk where both Nick and Judy waved at Clawhauser who was busily munching on a donut. The cheetah waved back, and the pair walked past his desk, oblivious to the feline's eyes darting from their faces, down to their entwined paws, then back up at them. A large grin appeared as he brought his paws to his face, trying his best to stifle a loud, joyful 'squee'.

As Judy walked, every now and then she glanced up at Nick, who lazily put his sunglasses on as they neared the doors. She felt his paw un-entangle itself from her own. He lowered his sunglasses, winking at her.

"Can't have reporters getting the wrong idea about us being partners now, can we? That would be a whole _new_ story."

Judy laughed, "Nick, thank you. For sticking with this crazy, emotional bunny."

He chuckled. "Well, someone has to look out you in big, bad Zootopia."

They reached the doors, and Judy felt a wave of nervousness again wash over her. She glanced at her partner one last time, before they both pushed the door open together, walking out to the assembled crowd.

It wasn't nearly as large a crowd compared to Judy's first press conference, but todays events were enough for a sizable number of reports to be clamoring for more information. A small, rabbit sized podium had been set up, which Judy was heading towards now. A second microphone, with a much longer neck than hers was set up next to it, allowing the pair to stand side by side, mostly concealed behind the wooden fixture. She stared at the reporters as camera's began snapping and flashes started going off in front of her. She suddenly realized why Nick had put his sunglasses on, even though the sun was already setting behind them.

"Good afternoon, everyone," Judy began, trying to ignore the bright flashes before her. "I'm Officer Judy Hopps, and this is my partner Officer Nicholas Wilde. We have a few moments to answer your questions before we return to our duties, so let's keep this orderly." The shouting grew to a low rumble, as reporters jostled for position and thrust their microphones towards her.

Although the reporters had stopped shouting, they were still all asking questions over each other, with the din becoming distracting. Judy forced herself to remain calm and focused, even though her heartbeat felt like she had just finished another PT session with Ursula. Finally, one of the reporters realized she wasn't going to speak over them, and raised his hand with a question. Judy locked eyes with him, a feline of some sort around her size, and pointed.

"Yes, sir, you have a question?" Judy's trained voice easily cut through the sound of the other reporters, who quieted down with somewhat embarrassed expressions as they realized their shouting had prevented her from actually hearing any questions so far.

The polite reporter smiled slightly, enjoying that his question would be the first one answered. "Mark McGonnagal, ZNN Crimewatch. We received reports earlier today that both yourself and your partner had been murdered in Tundratown. Obviously everybody at ZNN is relieved to find that information was incorrect. Can you speak to this situation?"

Judy paused, that was a pretty open-ended question! She knew she had a tendency to ramble when nervous, and this press conference certainly qualified. She didn't want to accidentally release any information about the case, though. Her thoughts started to race before she felt Nick's paw gently rest against her paws, which she still had clasped at the small of her back as she stood. Nick was standing just off her shoulder, his body and the podium preventing any of the reporters from seeing the contact. Immediately, she felt some of the tension rush out of her at her partner's silent show of support, and she clung to the public speaking advice he had given her just before her last press event. Between his encouragement and the advice Bogo had given them, she took a deep breath and began.

"Can I let you know what has happened so far? Yes, yes I can." She couldn't see the grin on Nick's face behind her at her reply. "The only statement either of us can make about that case is that it is part of an ongoing investigation. As you know, two mammals have been found dead, and the ZPD will investigate how they died. As soon as we have more information, we will supply the media with it. Anything else is conjecture at this point."

Judy felt Nick's paw give her own a reassuring squeeze. She glanced at him quickly, just long enough to see him nod his head slightly and give her a wink, visible only to her, from behind his sunglasses.

 _I can do this._ Judy repeated in her mind as she again focused on the gathered crowd. A few of the reporters had begun shouting their questions out, but many more were now silently raising their paws or hooves instead. She heard Nick behind her, his voice barely a whisper that she barely even could catch while standing so close to him.

"Looks like they're catching on, you're doing great."

She kept the grin that wanted to appear from doing just that as she finally pointed towards a beaver near the front of the crowd, recognizing him afterwards as the same reporter from her first news conference.

"Yes, what is your question, sir?"

"Nathaniel Woodfall, Ma'am. Can you tell us anything about how these citizens were found and how the rumors of your deaths started?"

Judy nodded as he finished. "Well," she began, quelling the nervousness inside her as she imagined how horrifying it was for the kids who found the two victims. "They were found by several younger mammals in the Tividen forest. We will not release their names, as they are minors, and I would ask of each of you to please respect their privacy; they have been through a harrowing enough experience already. The rumors began when they told others the species of the victims, which became muddled after each retelling, eventually leading to the rumors of our deaths."

"Rumors that, as you can see, were greatly exaggerated," added Nick from his place next to her, earning a few chuckles from the gathered reporters.

The assembled crowd took the quip as the end of her answer and none were now shouting their questions. Nick was silently appraising his partner and the authority she was commanding over the situation, especially compared to the hesitant and confused responses from her first press conference experience.

He couldn't have been more proud.

"Yes, what is your question?" Judy was pointing up towards the back of the crowd at a giraffe.

"Henry Hoofenberg, ZBC. Can you tell us how the animals in questioned died? Should the public be worried at all?"

Judy shook her head. "We do not know how they died," she began, and she felt an odd sense of deja vu hitting her as her answer had begun nearly the same way and in the same manner of the question that had destroyed her first press conference.

_We don't know...but, it may have something to do with, biology._

Those simple words, we do not know. She hesitated a moment, her nervousness again on the rise and as the seconds ticked on, the reporters began murmuring among themselves. A repeat of before was starting to flash before her eyes when she felt the familiar squeeze and nudge from her left. The nervousness evaporated. Nick was right next to her this time.

She had nothing to fear.

"Again, we don't know how they died," she began, with much more strength than before. "That is a matter that will be investigated by the coroner. As I said, I cannot release specific details of our investigation, however, I can assure the public that the ZPD is aggressively investigating this situation and we hope to bring it to a prompt conclusion, for the sake of the deceased's families."

Judy knew that this wasn't an isolated incident, however, she felt that it was better that the city didn't know everything that had happened alongside this case.

"I'll take one last question."

At the mention of only one question left, several reporters began shouting their questions towards them again. She finally spotted a tan rabbit in the front row and pointed. "Final question."

"Madeline Hopperton, Channel 2 Bunny Burrow News. I understand this yours and Officer Wildes' first major case working together as official partners and that you are also the first officers to be commissioned onto the force so far from the Mammal Inclusion Initiative. What does this say about your relationship working in the police force?"

Nick nearly choked, but caught himself, instead only coughing slightly. The question was a good one, and he heard Judy starting to answer it, but honestly, his brain had stopped processing any sounds as soon as he had heard the word _relationship_ come from the bunny's mouth. He looked at his partner, quickly dousing the bubbling emotions beginning to froth inside him and trying to refocus on his partner's response.

"...he trusts us, just as he trusts all of his officers. We are working with two experienced detectives, so together, we'll be able to quickly solve this case and bring justice to the victims of this crime."

"Yes, that's all good," the reporter inserted. "But what about the relationship between you two?"

Nick's breath caught in his throat, again. He knew the reporter meant how they worked together, but something inside the fox wasn't allowing him to let it process that way.

Judy seemed a little flustered at the repeated question, and Nick barely noticed a slight pink in her cheeks.

_Could she be thinking the same thing I am?_

Nick knew he had to step in as Judy let out a quiet, 'um'. That was a dangerous word for the rabbit, as it meant whatever came next was about to be off the cuff, spontaneous, and at a press conference that was a lit match in a hay pile.

"If you mean that we are one of the best team on the force and can work together well? Then yes, yes we are. Now if you excuse us, we have a very big lead to follow, and a case to crack. Good day." Nick smiled at the cameras and placed a paw on Judy's back, gently leading her away from the crowd of reporters. After a few steps she seemed to have recovered, new blush forming on her ears as they made their way back through the front doors of Precinct 1. As soon as the doors closed, a wave of relief flooded the rabbit's mind and body.

"That went a lot better than last time," Judy admitted, letting go of a breath she had been holding back. "Though I want to say thank you, Nick."

"And what did I do to earn such favour?" He answered slyly, taking off his shades and placing them in his pocket.

"That last question. For some reason, I just couldn't answer it. I don't know why but…"

"Sometimes," the fox inserted, cutting her off, "the press just asks questions that don't need answers at the moment."

Judy grinned as they walked past the front desk again, heading to the back of the station where their specially made cruiser was awaiting them. Though as they passed the reception desk, Judy was a bit concerned by the larger than normal smile on Clawhauser's face, and the happy look he was sending their way was a bit awkward. The cheetah waved to them as they passed.

"Have fun out there saving the world, _partners_."

"Thanks Benji!" Judy sputtered as he continued to grin cheekily at them. They disappeared down the hallway, and for the rest of the walk to the car and the drive to the morgue, Judy couldn't figure out what was more weird about the cheetah's behavior. The way he was looking at them, or the way he said _partners._

 

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The drive to Tundratown went much faster than Judy expected. Of course it helped that Nick had flicked the cruiser's sirens and lights on, as well as the fact that Judy enjoyed putting the pursuit cruiser's oversized engine through it's paces. Initially Judy had been a bit distracted, trying to work out the strange look Clawhauser had given them on the way out of the precinct. She'd had to give that up and focus on the road, though, especially once they hit the slippery streets of Tundratown.

The few small skids she'd experienced as the temperature dropped prompted Nick to ask her where she learned to drive, the fox never missing an opportunity to wind her up. Judy finally saying that 'he could take over then', while pretending to try and switch seats with him while they were on a straightaway silenced the fox's complaints. Judy had worn a slightly smug smile for the notably silent remainder of the drive.

They parked in the employee's lot between the forensics lab and the morgue, the snow crunching beneath the cruiser's tires as they pulled in. They hurried towards the front entrance through a light falling snow, hoping to escape the chill as neither of them had brought their coats and winter gear for the short trip to the Ice Box. The buildings they jogged towards were both large, and had very few windows between them. They weren't just called the "Ice Box" because they were in Tundratown, they had also been given that name due to the somewhat cold exterior to the buildings themselves.

Both mammals gave a small sigh of relief as they made it to the front door and let the somewhat warmer indoor air wash over them, Nick shaking the snow from his uniform and tail as they dashed inside. Judy brushed off the light snow that had accumulated on her shoulders, grateful it wasn't blizzard conditions outside like she had encountered on previous visits to Tundratown.

They arrived at the front desk, glad they didn't have to climb a ladder to look over it as the it was made just for animals their size. A stout looking ferret glanced up from his paperwork and saw the two officers.

"Greetings. My name is Adam Furo, what can I do for you today?" he began, his voice nasally and high, before his eyes widened and he began to stutter. "Judy Hopps! And Nick Wilde! I'm..I'm honored."

Nick chuckled at the reaction they had received. "I can tell." Judy jabbed him in his side and rolled her eyes. Nick shot her a mischievous smile then returned his attention to the ferret. "We're here for the preliminary findings on the two deceased mammals that were found in Tividen Forest this morning. We'll also be bringing some CSI reports back to to the forensics lab." Nick leaned against the desk as he grabbed his sunglasses and dropped them into his uniform pocket.

"Oh, you mean the hare and the fox!" exclaimed Adam. "Yes, of course. They just arrived a few hours ago, the CSIs should have finished with them. They're logged in for…" the lanky animal glanced at a paper on his desk, his finger drawing a slow line down it, "Ah, in examination room three. Just follow the signs hanging from the ceiling. It should be easy enough to find, especially with mammals of your caliber. If the coroner is around, you can check in with them. They won't have started the autopsies yet.""

Nick nodded at the ferret while Judy returned the smile the animal gave them, though cringing inside at the mention of how the victims were about to be examined. Judy hoped that they would not have to be there to witness that scene. She was just turning to follow Nick when she heard the ferret call out to them nervously.

"I know you've probably heard this already, and I'm so sorry those poor mammals died, but," he was grasping his paws, rubbing them together while looking at his desk. "I'm glad it wasn't the two of you that came in today in body bags."

She turned slowly, noticing Nick doing the same thing, his ears swiveling to face the ferret as he turned.

"I was worried when I saw the first news reports coming out about this," his high pitched voice was growing softer. "You two are some of my heroes for what you did for this city, for saving all predators from Bellwether." He spat out the last word as if it were a deadly disease, though his nervousness remained. "My best friend was one of the bears that she targeted, and thanks to you, he was able to return to his family, safe and sound."

Judy felt a tug at her heart and suddenly the ferret's nervousness made sense. Out of all the animals that had gone savage, she was only closely familiar with the Ottertons, his case being the one she was given to oversee. The other victims of the serum she hadn't even met, besides when Nick and her had found them at Cliffside, and she doubted they would remember anything from that meeting. She knew Mrs. Otterton and had met her two boys, Riley and Cody, but that was the extent of mammals she knew who were directly affected by Bellwether's plot.

She hadn't realized just how many were indirectly affected by it as well. They all had had families, friends, relatives that had cared for them. And here was one of them, meekly standing in front of those he considered heroes for what she only thought as of doing her job.

Adam was looking at his hands, but quickly turned his face towards the rabbit, his eyes glistening. "He said if I ever met you two, that I should thank you for what you two did in standing up to the Mayor and her ideas. He owes you his life, and his three cubs and wife owe you their father and husband."

Judy was at a loss for what to say. Her ears fell behind her head, and she felt tears forming at the corners of her eyes. She wiped them away, a small smile coming to her face. She walked back to the desk and leaned across it to embraced the ferret in a hug. The tears that were threatening the corners of Adam's eyes finally cascaded down his cheeks and onto Judy's uniform. She let him cry into her uniform, rubbing her paw on his back until she felt Adam pull away.

"I'm sorry, this is so unprofessional of me to be asking or saying any of this to you."

"Hey now, it's alright," Judy quickly interrupted. "We're just normal mammals too, in fact..." Judy reached down towards a pouch on her belt, finding the object she was looking for, a small card, imprinted with the ZPD logo, name and precinct office phone number. She reached back towards another pocket and pulled out her carrot pen and scribbled quickly onto the card.

"Tell him, that we are humbled by his support and kindness. And that, if possible, we'd love a chance to meet him." She handed the card over to Adam, who held it in his paws, unable to hold back the tears that came anew.

"Thank you," he whispered, holding the card in his paws like the treasured gift. "Brutus will be overjoyed at knowing that you would love to visit him and his family. He's tried in the past to contact you, but never managed to get through. Thank you so much, Officer Hopps!"

"Please, call me Judy," she replied, a large smile etched onto her face. She felt a paw place itself on her shoulder and looked up into the face of her partner.

"Come on, Carrots, we're burning daylight and still have to get to the lab with the evidence."

Judy nodded, smiling once more at Adam and walked off with her Nick who led the way down the hall. As soon as they were away from the front desk and down the hallway a ways, Nick stopped, causing Judy to almost run into him. She glanced up at him in confusion, especially when she saw his smiling, not smirking, down at her.

"That was beautiful what you did there, Judy."

 _Her name again_...She was now quite confused at what was happening.

"I didn't do anything you wouldn't have done," she replied.

"But I hadn't done that, and probably wouldn't have, Carrots. In fact, I don't know of anyone who would have done what you just did for him and his friend."

"I don't know," she mumbled, her ears drooping. "I just felt like it was the right thing to do."

Nick placed a paw on her shoulder, slowly kneeling until he was eye level with the her. "What you just did there," he pointed down the hall, "is why the city thinks of you as a hero. It's why the city loves you. Why everyone at the precinct loves you. It's why I..." he paused, barely able to stop the word he almost said from escaping his lips. Judy's nose twitched at his sudden hesitation and inside his mind, he was running damage control.

 _Calm yourself Nick. You did not almost say what you thought you were going to say._ He breathed in deeply, trying to reason with himself.

"Why you what, Nick?"

He caught her eyes, her lavender ones staring straight into his green ones.

"Why I enjoy so much about being your partner. You give of yourself so freely, and show the world what it means to be an extraordinary mammal. You're truly, one of a kind, Carrots."

He hoped he had been able to convince the rabbit that what he had said was his original intended thoughts. Nick saw her smile, and knew it had worked. He was safe...for now. But when they got home, he had a lot of thinking to do on just what his feelings were towards his partner.

Judy felt a rush of blood into her ears, and knew they were turning bright red again. "Thank you Nick," she finally whispered, grabbing his paw in her own.

He didn't say a word. He simply squeezed her shoulder affectionately, then ruffled her ears as he got up and walked down the hallway.

"Never change, Carrots," he said as he walked, glancing back at his partner. "Never change."

 

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone knows how to add italicizing to a chapter when you copy and past this over from word, without having to go in and physically write and before and after each sentence you want to emphasis, that would be awesome. I'd love to post more on here, but taking 15 extra minutes to copy paste all that, then to double check to make sure you didn't miss anything, is a bit tedious. :/
> 
> So if you have a great solution, I'm all ears. :D


	15. Forensic Files

They say the best times to get to know someone is to see them at their worst, at their best, or when they think nobody is watching. Nick's personal favorite was 'worst', probably because his skill at annoying mammals into revealing their secrets was so good it might as well be an art form...

Judy, in his eyes, was fairly flawless at all three times. He'd been there at her best, at her worst and now, after seeing what she was like when no one was watching, he knew she was one of a kind. Even if she sometimes grated on his nerves, she still was the best friend Nick had ever had, and probably the kindest mammal he'd ever known.

He was smitten. As if life wasn't enough of a paradox, the fox had fallen for the bunny; and he'd fallen hard.

And he was perfectly fine with that.

He followed her at a leisurely pace, just a few steps behind as they made their way towards the examination room where the hare and fox had been placed. Nick began noticing the little things about her now, the slight jump to each step she took, the slight twitch of her tail, the slight sway side to side of her legs and hips…

The fox mentally smacked himself, shaking loose that last image. _Now's not the time to be ogling your partner, Nick._

Somehow, Judy seemed to know how flustered her partner was behind her. Her ears swiveled in his directions, and soon her head followed as she slowed her gait, looking back at him. Nick tried to smile, but he felt like he hadn't succeeded when his partner's smile turned into a slight frown.  


"Are you doing ok, Nick?" she finally asked as he caught up to her, now walking side by side down the hallway.  


_I was thinking of asking you the same thing, Carrots..._ Nick thought to himself. He knew that Judy had never seen a dead body before. At least, he was pretty convinced it would be the first time. He couldn't believe that this wonderful little rabbit was basically running headlong into something that most people did their best to avoid. She was always running straight into dangerous situations, whether physically or emotionally. It worried him to death sometimes, but he loved it all the same.  


It made him want to push himself harder just to be able to be there for her. Like now.  


"I'm doing fine, Carrots. Just a bit preoccupied with the case, that's all." He failed to mention a certain bunny was also sharing the space in his mind, or more like filling it at the moment. She still watched him, her eyes trying to detect whether he was telling the truth. That made Nick a bit nervous; Judy was a very astute rabbit and could read him better than any other mammal. Was she noticing anything that might give his thoughts away? Could she somehow hear his heartbeat, which was now starting to pick up again? The reynard needed to switch the subject. Nick again shook his head, placing his paw on her shoulder. "I should be asking you that question. How are you holding up with everything going on?"  


The strategy seemed to work as Judy's ears lowered and her eyes focused on the hallway in front of her. "I guess I'm…" she paused, noticing a sign hanging from the ceiling which said "Examination Room 3". She paused nearly underneath the sign, then looked toward the door to her left. She stood there for several moments before her shoulders dropped and she sighed. "I don't know anymore, Nick."  


He had to ask, as the question had been on his mind since Bogo assigned them to come here.  


"Judy, is this the first time you've seen a body before?"  


She flinched, and it was the only answer he needed. Nick placed a paw on her shoulder, pulling her towards him, gently entwining his arms around her in a hug. A shudder went through her body as she leaned in against his chest, and he felt her nod slowly. Nick could imagine the weight of what she was about to see just came crushing down on his partner's head. This was their case, but inwardly, Nick was wishing Bogo could have assigned Fangmeyer and Delgato to do this instead of them. Maybe the buffalo was testing them to see how they would react? The thought only made Nick hold Judy tighter.  


"So, you've never seen a body then?" Nick stated quietly, that that brought up several questions of its own. "How is that possible when you literally have thousands of relatives? Have you never been to a open casket funeral before?"  


Judy shook her head, "They don't have those in Bunny Burrow. In fact, we don't have caskets at all actually." Nick's ears perked up at that statement.  


"Like you said, with so many siblings, aunts, uncles and relatives, there were a lot of funerals in Bunny Burrow." Nick could barely hear her as she talked against his chest. "Before I was born, the city council decided that there wouldn't be enough space if everyone was to bury their loved ones, so they issued a city ordinance to cremate the dead so the city wouldn't look like a miles long cemetery. It happens within a day of the death, so I've...I've never been to a wake where there was anything more than a box of ashes to remember your loved ones by." Nick let his paw move to her ears, slowly stroking them up and down as she spoke as he noticed her nose had started twitching.  


"So today will be your first time, then."  
She nodded, then looked up into her partners eyes. "I've seen photos, during the academy, but never in person. I've had relatives who've passed away from old age too, but nobody who was killed. Have you ever seen someone who has…" She couldn't finish the sentence when she saw his face, his gaze became stony and his ears shot straight up. She instead looked back down at her paws. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry…"  


Judy felt instantly embarrassed about the question. She wanted to know more about Nick's past, as that was a subject she knew little about. What kind of joy or pain had he experienced? Did he have a rough childhood? She only knew about his experience with the scouts, and that he must have loved his mother greatly, as whenever she came up, a peaceful smile appeared on his face. Even if for just a fleeting moment before he mask would reappear and his walls were built back up. The biggest question though, was why he had, by the age of 12, gone to live the life of a con-fox? Had something happened in his family to cause that? Divorce? Death of a parent? Both parents? He said he had seen dead mammals before so...  


_Maybe his mother is the one..? ___Judy's cheeks turned even more red as she realized she may have treaded on very thin ice. Her ears drooped over her cheeks, and she pulled at them in embarrassment. She tried not to think that was the reason, but with knowing so little about the fox who she had been partners with for the past six months, anything could be possible. Reality struck her a severe blow when she realized her best friend was a total enigma.  


"I'm sorry, Nick. If this is a touchy subject then I…"  


Nick waved her reaction off, though Judy did notice a twinge of regret appear in his eyes.  


"To answer your question, yes, Judy. Yes I have. When you live on the streets like I did, for so long, you get to see everything, whether you want to or not."  


There was silence for a moment, before either of them spoke again. This time, it was Judy who spoke up.  


"What is it like?" she asked nervously.  


Nick sighed, "It's like they're there, but they're not there, all at the same time." He snuck a glance at the doorway to their left, looking through the circular windows on the double doors and even from outside, able to spot the two tables with white cloths over top of them, hiding two forms beneath them. "When you see someone you knew before they died, you can tell who it was, they look the same physically. But when they are gone...It's like the body is no longer them. It's missing something; that part that made them who they were, the one you loved. Not to be disrespectful, but after they die, it feels like all you are looking at is a mound of fur and flesh. Not someone you cared about for just a moment before. I think it's worse when they're younger."  


Nick let out a weary sigh, his head bowing as if in prayer, before he turned to look at Judy, his gaze tender. "There's a certain knowledge when someone is older, that they won't be around forever. Nobody likes thinking about it, but it's like we just accept that they'll be gone sometime. When it's someone your age, or younger it feels...different. That something was taken before it was supposed to. Especially if it wasn't an accident."  


Judy couldn't help but place a paw on his arm in solitude with her partner. He smiled, reaching across his chest to hold her paw in his own as his gaze switched towards the doorway before them.  


"That's how you get through it, Carrots," he whispered, again looking down at her, noticing she probably hadn't taken her eyes off of him. "You just have to remember they are gone, and in this case, we have to find out why. We're the ones who make sure that these mammals won't be forgotten, because what we learn in this room," he removed his paw from over hers and waved it at the doors in front of them, "can help us catch their killer and finally bring them justice." He stroked her ears again, smiling as a warm smile of her own appeared. "The one who did this, killed those two? They did it to get to us. You can't let them see that they get to you. We're the ones who are going to get them."  


Judy's back straightened as she processed those words. Nick was right. The victims deserved justice, and she could give that to them. In some way, the final act of the murdered hare and fox would be to help catch their killer. She realized she was smiling, as she looked up to meet Nick's eyes. He had spoken with such passion, it had pushed away her sadness and tension like a warm wind from Sahara Square. She felt energized, ready to take on the world, but couldn't bring herself to break away from Nick's gaze. Nick rewrapped his arms around her, again stroking her ears tenderly.  


They both were looking at each other, smiles on their faces and holding each other in a hug in the middle of the morgue. Their muzzles were just inches apart, Judy finally noticed, and a thought popped into her mind…  


_You could lean in, you know..._ the small voice said. _Just close your eyes, lean forward and see what happens._  


She jolted backwards, pulling herself out of the hug, nervously laughing as she smoothed her ears back with both paws, a blush creeping onto her cheeks and up her ears.  


"You ok there, Carrots?" Nick asked, a slightly bemused but worried expression on his face.  


"Yes, yes, I'm fine!" She quickly replied, probably too quickly as she noticed Nick's ears perked up a tiny bit. "If you say so."  


"I do say so," she replied, and walked swiftly over to the double doors. "Let's head in, we have a job to do and a case to solve." The doors swung inwards as she pushed them both open at once, leaving the fox standing alone in the hallway. He finally chuckled, rubbing his ears with his paw before he followed after her into the room.  


Judy had never been in one of the morgue rooms before. Based on her semi-regular watching of crime dramas, she was expecting a dark room, filled with spooky shadows and strange things floating in preservative jars. A wizened and creepy medical examiner, possibly with a hunchbacked assistant wouldn't be amiss either.  


Instead, the lights in here were bright and welcoming, reflecting off of the polished metal gurneys and various medical instruments. . While she had expected every surface to be free of clutter, pristine and perfect, what she saw were piles of paperwork and tools spread across several tables. Judy was actually a little disappointed that there weren't any mysterious preservation jars to spice up the place.  


She scanned the room, noticing a lab-coated mammal at a desk off in one corner of the room, facing away from them while using the phone. The animal was speaking too quietly for Judy to pick up the words, even in the silence of the exam room. Though she was surprised when they suddenly began giggling. She could probably have listened in if she angled her ears and focused, but Judy preferred not to eavesdrop unnecessarily. Even if the laughter did sound out of place in a morgue, and she was curious what the joke was. As she continued to walk into the room, her eyes finally fell upon the reason they were here.  


She stopped in her tracks, feelings of dread welling up inside her as she approached. Judy drew her thoughts back to what Nick had said, feeling his comforting words beginning to quell the feelings of fear. She took a deep breath and focused, finally crushing the feelings of dread, suppressing them with a wave of righteous fury.  


The two gurneys were directly opposite the medical staff in the corner of the room that was closer to the door. Mostly covered by large white cloths, the bodies beneath them were hidden from sight, all except for the heads of their victims, as the cloth had been folded back, allowing them to be seen.  


In that moment, everything became real.  


Animals _had_ died, and there was a _murderer_ on the loose. She unconsciously walked towards the tables, slowing only when she stood next to them. Judy was drawn to the one with the fox on it, staring at the body with a mix of sadness and anger. Even though the animal was an arctic fox, she couldn't help but draw similarities to her partner.  


Scenes from Nick and her being chased through the city just two weeks ago flashed into her mind. Watching Nick being knocked into the wall by the savage Shepherd. _This could have been him..._ she thought. _This had almost been Nick…_  


Judy flinched as the memories replayed themselves. The initial cracking sound when Nick was hit by the ram, followed by the dull thud of his body hitting the wall. He had been extremely lucky to survive those injuries. He could have ended up on a cold slate like the fox before her.  


What would have happened if he _had died?_  


Judy shivered at the thought, feeling tears well at the corner of her eyes, before she ruthlessly forced them back. The fear of losing Nick met the rising swell of protective anger and was swept away. _No_ she thought furiously. _That's NOT going to happen. I won't let it. If someone wants to get at MY fox, they'll have to go through me first!_  


Judy focused her thoughts on her partner, trying to calm her surging emotions. Nick meant so much to her, and she couldn't imagine living without him at this point. It was his jokes and smiles that had gotten her through so many challenges. It was his kindness, and how he always seemed to be there for her when she needed him, even if he delivered a lot of teasing commentary at her expense at the same time. She knew that he cared for her, and by the smiles and smalls signs of affections he liked to shower upon her daily, it was almost like he…  


Judy's train of thought slammed to a halt. Nick has been a lot more understanding and affectionate recently, something she had originally attributed to her injuries. But now that she thought about it, he'd been gradually changing even before that. It was only the new closeness caused by their safe house accommodations and extended stay in the hospital together that had really brought it to her attention.  


The thoughts from earlier came into her mind again. _Do you think he's being more affectionate, just because you now spend 100% of your time together, rather than 75% of it?_  


Her mind stumbled over an answer. The gentle rubbing of her ears, the tender hugs, the looks filled with love he...gave…her...  


_Oh sweet cheese and crackers…_  


Her mind was laughing as her ears and cheeks began to burn under a new forming blush.  


_He can't possibly..._ she gulped, and now was certain the fox next to her could feel the heat dissipating from her ears with how heated her cheeks and ears felt. _He can't possibly...love me, could he?_  


The silky smooth voice in her mind answered casually with a question of its own.  


_What if he does…?_  


________________________________________  


Nick walked up to the gurneys, pausing right next to Judy. He quickly stole a glance at his partner, worried about the sadness and twinge of fear he saw in her eyes. The fox quickly looked away, focusing instead on the reason for their visit to this place. The arctic hare lying on the gurney looked no older than his partner, maybe mid to late 20's. From the pictures he saw at the hospital and in the case file, he only could make out some details about the animals, but now, being this close to them, he could see quite a bit more.  


Being found in Tundratown had helped preserve the bodies. You would never mistake them for being asleep, not with the cold, blue/purple tinted skin visible beneath their fur, but they were still clearly recognizable. In some ways that made it worse, it was all too easy to imagine how they must have looked when alive. Nick grimaced, then turned away from the hare to again focus on his partner. She was still looking at the fox lying on the gurney in front of her. Though her eyes were unfocused, her breathing hitched as she just stood there. He felt like he should say something, but the words caught in his throat.  


There was nothing he could say. _Everyone deals with death in different ways..._ Nick thought.  


Though there was one thing he could do.  


Slowly, he reached out to her, and entwined his paw in hers. Her nose twitched at the touch, and it felt for a moment she seemed to pull away from him, but just as quickly he felt her relax. And were her ears turning a bit red? Nick narrowed his eyes and upon closer look, he spotted the subtle blush beneath Judy's fur.  


_That's unexpected._  


Realizing their hands were still joined, Nick moved to pull away and give Judy a bit of space, but she squeezed his hand harder and refused to let go! Well, if she wanted him there… Judy turned slightly, meeting his questioning gaze. Although her blush intensified, she didn't look away and Nick saw something new in her eyes. A sort of longing, and a spark of mischievousness that seemed out of place given where they were, not that Nick was complaining. If Judy could find something happy and amusing to counter the darkness of this case, more power to her. Nick quirked an eyebrow and gave Judy his foxiest smirk. Judy grinned back at him, and despite her blush, began to-  


"Am I interrupting something?"  


Both Nick and Judy jumped, startled at the sudden interruption. They turned to see a lanky female Jaguar in green surgical scrubs walking up behind them.  


"I'm sorry if I did, I didn't mean too. I can come back later…" she stated a bit sheepishly.  


"It's ok, Miss…?" Nick replied, nervously shuffling his feet as he again glanced at Judy who was doing the same thing, albeit with a hint of pink remaining under her fur.  


"Dr Valorie A Woods," the jaguar replied in a rich, smooth voice, reaching out a paw. Nick shook it, only noticing as he did so that he and Judy were still holding paws. He hurriedly released her, hoping the good doctor hadn't noticed. Judy gave him a brief glance, her blush intensifying, before she reached up and shook the offered paw as well. "And I don't think you two need an introduction, but it would be rude of me not to ask." Dr Woods smiled, and the effect was instantaneous on the two of them.  


"I'm Officer Hopps, ZPD, and this is my partner, Officer Wilde."  


"It's nice to finally meet the both of you. When Chief Bogo called and told me you would be the officers arriving, I was delighted I'd have the chance to meet you." She laughed, a sweet sound that filled the rather gloomy room with a semblance of joy. "I've been trying to get everything ready so I could give you a preliminary report, however, it seems like things haven't been going my way tonight." She paused, glancing at the two victims. "There was a delay in transit, so the bodies didn't get here until after shift change. Unfortunately, there's a bug going around the office and our swing shift is a bit short-staffed at the moment, so all I have for you right now is a visual evaluation of the bodies of the victims. Even that is limited by the condition the bodies were found in, as I've had to wait several hours for them to thaw from being so long in the snow."  


"We understand, Dr Woods," Nick replied, shuddering slightly at her description the victims had been found in. "Do you have anything you could tell us about them so far? I know you haven't started the autopsies yet, but have their clothing given anything away during your initial evaluation?"  


The jaguar shook her head. "Sadly, Officer Wilde, I'm afraid not." Nick noticed that Judy's ears tilted downwards at the news. "Because of their frozen state, I couldn't remove their garments immediately without risking damage to both the clothing and the bodies, which could destroy evidence. I also couldn't warm them up too quickly, as that would risk the same degree of damage. We've finished both those tasks now, but we had hoped to have them finished hours ago. I've gathered their effects and completed the external evidence collection, brushed the bodies for fibers, scraped under claws, the usual. I was actually about to send everything we'd collected over to the forensics lab when I heard you had arrived."  


The jaguar sighed heavily, her tail swishing across the ground. "I really want to begin to autopsies, but I have to get the evidence to the forensics lab so that they can begin processing it."  


"We could do that for you," Judy chirped up, causing the doctor to look down at her with a surprised, then a delighted expression.  


"That would be wonderful if you could do that. I haven't had time to thoroughly go through any of the evidence, other to log it into the system, bag it, and then put it all into a travelling tote for when I'd eventually have the time to take it to the forensics lab. I had just finished up with locking it as you arrived. I can grab it for you if you'd like."  


"That would be much appreciated, Ma'am," Judy replied.  


"No problem, I'll grab that for you now." Woods smiled, then turned to walk back towards what must have been her office, leaving the two alone again, as silent as the grave.  


Judy tried to focus on why they were there, but it had become challenging once the thoughts of her partner being the one on the table instead of the arctic fox. Who would come for his belongings, or be the one to bear the news to his loved ones? His family? His friends?  


Though that thought gave her pause…  


_Where are Nick's parents?_  


She actually didn't know the answer to that question. She glanced up at the fox, not surprised that he was looking down at her as well. She would have to ask him soon. The more her thoughts were drawn to the fox at her side, the more she realized the simple fact that she didn't know nearly anything about him.  


_How could I..._ her mind froze over the word that instantly popped into her mind... _a mammal I don't even know?_  


It seemed as if Nick knew something was bothering her, as his eyes shifted from radiating warmth, to that of concern.  


"Doing alright, Carrots?"  


Again, she was at a loss for words. She knew what she wanted to say. To let him know all the thoughts pounding through her brain, ask for his opinion on them all and try to help her in sorting through them, as she might do with a lengthy case file. _Now was not the time for that..._ she reasoned. It was hard, but she somehow managed to force her mind back to the case at hand.  


"I…", she stumbled over her words, before giving a sigh. "I'm just worried about the families of our two victims." She turned to look back at the bodies of the fox and hare on the table. "Do you think they have been contacted yet?"  


Nick shook his head. "I don't believe so, at least I haven't heard of that happening yet. Bogo will probably call them himself once we have a positive verification of I.D. and if he doesn't, then we might have to be the ones to tell them."  


Judy stiffened. _They would have to tell the parents of these two mammals that their child, husband, or wife had been murdered?_ The thought terrified her more than the press conference they had just done. Dealing with the press was one thing, but looking into the eyes of someone, to let them know the one that had been missing for a week was never coming back?  


They never even _discussed_ that at the academy in their classes, but she had read something about them in the academy's library.  


"Wouldn't that be something a detective would do? Back at the academy I read in one of the manuals that usually that is assigned to a detective, lieutenant or sergeant? They wouldn't have two beat cops do that, would they?"  


"Usually, no, no they would not. But we aren't your regular beat cops now, are we. Though I would wager that detectives Fangmeyer and Delgato will probably be given that duty. I don't think it would be good for the families to have a fox and a rabbit show up at their doors to let them know that a fox and hare had been found dead."  


The thought made Judy cringe and inwardly hope that it was going to be Delgato and Fangmeyer that had to tell the families about the deaths of their loved ones.  


Thankfully for the rabbit, she heard the sound of claws clicking on the tile floor towards them. She turned to see Dr Woods walking towards them, dragging along large red tote on a dolly behind her.  


"Here you two are, all the evidence we've collected and preliminary reports are in here," she placed the dolly with the tote attached next to them. "Sorry it took a while, I was printing out what I've been able to decipher about these two so far."  


"It's alright," Nick replied, glancing down at Judy whose nose had begun twitching again. "We're the primaries on this case, but ZPD Detectives Delgato and Fangmeyer are also involved. Could you include them on any reports logged in the system?"  


Woods nodded, "Of course I can do that. Once I have the reports and autopsies completed, I'll send them the information to you two as well as to the other officers."  
"Thank you, that is very much appreciated." The fox smiled at the doctor, then turned his attention to Judy who had a shy smile on her face while looking at him. Her mouth seemed to form the words, _'thank you'_ and he replied with a wink and mouthing, _'no problem'._  


"Well, it has been a pleasure to finally meet you two, hopefully next time it will be under better circumstances." The jaguar held out her paw which both Nick and Judy shook in turns. "I do have to get started on the autopsies soon. The bodies have managed to thaw out enough to where I can begin, and something tells me neither of you really wants to be here for that."  


Judy couldn't help but shake her head. She grabbed the dolly, which was comical as it was nearly as tall as Nick, and began walking towards the doors to the lab. Nick went to follow her, when he felt a paw holding his shoulder. He turned to see Dr Woods giving him a sly smile.  


"Yes, doctor?"  


She studied him for a moment, the smile never leaving her face until she spoke. "Officer Wilde, I want you to remember this. The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all."  


Nick stared at her. "I'm not sure what you mean, doctor. If you should be talking about flowers to anyone, you should be taking to Officer Hopps over there." He pointed towards the rabbit who was struggling to pull the dolly as the tote had become stuck between the double doors.  


Woods laughed, "I'm not talking about flowers, Officer." She chuckled and looked over towards Judy herself. The rabbit had managed to leverage both doors open with her feet, and shoved the dolly through with ease, then jumped through the doors after it, disappearing into the hallway. "I'm talking about her. You don't meet a rabbit like that every day, now do you?"  


The fox froze, his smile at watching Judy disappearing. He eyed the medical examiner warily. He understood what she was saying, and by the smile on her face, she knew that he knew what she meant. "I don't think you should take too much time in letting her know that either."  


"Hey Nick! You coming?"  


Nick glanced towards the door, where Judy had pushed her head through and was staring at him. He gave one last look towards Woods, who smiled and inclined her head towards the waiting rabbit, before he jogged over to the doors. As he walked through them, he tussled the fur between Judy's ears, eliciting a startled reaction from his partner as he then grabbed the dolly from her paws.  


"I thought you were coming, Carrots?" he said as he walked down the hall. Judy rolled her eyes and shut the door, following after him.  


Doctor Woods chuckled to herself before she headed back towards her office. She'd have to tell her boyfriend about those two as he was always going on about them. She found her phone and scrolled through the contact lists until she saw his name near the top. She dialed and waited until he picked up.  


"Benji," she smiled as the cheetah on the other side of the line greeted her. "You know how you are always talking about how adorable a certain pair of officers are? Well…"  
________________________________________  


They walked down several corridors, only pausing when they would find a map on the wall so they could know if they were still going the right way to make it to the forensics lab. Both felt like they were going around in circles as the maze of corridors seemed endless, and they hadn't even reached the other building yet!  


The two buildings were on opposite sides of the road, but that didn't stop them from being connected to one another. A large, enclosed skywalk connected them at the third story, which was the direction that they were headed now. Or, at least they hoped they were heading. At least they knew what floor they were on. Probably...  


"Carrots, I'm telling you, we just need to keep going straight, then they'll be elevators on our right."  


The rabbit stared at him. "You're looking at the map wrong, Nick." She jabbed a paw towards a spot on the map. "We're right here, if we went straight, then we'd end up at the entrance and not where we need to go. We just need to take the next left, follow it down for a ways, then take another left where the three hallways converge."  


"There's elevators at the entrance, we can just take them to the third floor," Nick mused, staring at the map again. Judy groaned.  


When it came to the open roads of Zootopia, nobody knew them better than Nick Wilde, but when it came to government buildings, those were something he had avoided for most of his life. He had never needed maps living on the streets, as most of the alleys, back-paths and shortcuts weren't on them to begin with. They were something you had to learn for yourself. So he viewed the map to the building as just that, searching for shortcuts.  


For Judy, who was used to living out in the country, it was a different situation. Her family never used maps, but instead, focused on landmarks that would guide them to their destination. The old elm tree past the Skipperton's property, or the gully that formed the boundary between their property and the Jumps family farm. It was how she was trying to read the map and explain it to the fox.  


Suffice it to say, they had gotten themselves lost quite easily.  


Judy was rubbing at her eyes, groaning as the fox stared pointlessly at the map on the wall. It might as well have been a painting by Pigcasso as neither of them could agree on a route to take. A gurgling sound from the fox broke her concentration. She stared at Nick, whose ears seemed to have flattened as he laid a paw over his stomach.  


"What was that?" Judy asked, her annoyance with the fox still evident in her voice.  


"That was my stomach agreeing with me on which direction to go and to ignore the bunny's directions."  


Judy rolled her eyes, as Nick's stomach made another sound, a little louder than the first. She smirked a bit. "I think it just agreed with me that time. I could swear I heard it say, _'Judy's right'."_  


"I don't think you speak Fox Stomach. It clearly said this way," Nick pointed down the hall and started walking down it. She followed, only to watch his reaction for when they'd hit the dead end after the next turn.  


His stomach groaned again as they ploughed ahead down the corridor.  


"You should answer that, I don't think they're hanging up anytime soon," Judy giggled. Nick's ears drooped and a scowl formed on his face.  


"Tell them to call back later." As if on cue, his stomach rumbled again, this time loud enough for a deer passing on the other side of the hall from themto stop and stare at the fox. Judy couldn't contain her giggles and burst out into laughter.  


"Doesn't seem like they're interested in the voicemail, Nick."  


The fox groaned, his stomach merrily replying to his voice. "I don't know why it's doing this, I only fed it 12 hours ago." Nick looked up and saw the deer still staring at them, the animal trying to contain his own laughter as he walked past.  


"Ok, so I'm hungry, alright? We would have already gotten this to the forensics lab by now if we had just followed my directions."  


"Somebody sounds _hangry,_ " Judy exclaimed while laughing.  


"Well, unless you have some food hidden underneath that kevlar vest of yours, then you're just going to have to get used to it."  


They turned the corner at the end of the hallway and stopped. Nick slapped a paw over his head while Judy laughed. "I told you this would be a dead end."  


"Don't even say it," Nick huffed, glaring at his partner who was just smiling at him.  


"Say what, exactly?"  


He grimaced, "Nothing."  


"Do you mean how you were saying earlier that a bunny can't give directions."  


Nick's stomach gurgled again. "Let's just go, Carrots."  


Judy grinned. "I'd say, 'lead on', Nick, but that would only get us more lost, wouldn't it."  


The fox grumbled something under his breath as he turned and walked back down the hallway.  


"I don't think I heard that, Nick. Could you repeat that?" Judy was loving every second of this.  


"Let's just find someplace to eat, alright? The fake plants around here are starting to look somewhat edible."  
Judy laughed as she jogged up to him. "Wow, I would never have thought you would say something like that, Nick. Are you going prey on me? I'm 'Carrots', so we'll need to choose a different plant for you." She put a paw to her chin, then snapped her fingers as her face lit up.  
"Blueberries! That's what I'll call you!"  
"Alright, I have to say my comment was in poor _taste_ ," the fox replied. Judy looked at Nick, who had the biggest smirk she'd seen on his face in a long time.  
"And just when I thought you couldn't bite off more than you could chew, _Blueberries_."  
Nick's eyes lit up. "Oh, looks like the rabbit wants to participate in a pun-off? Just to let you know, Fluff, I've _devoured_ all previous competitors in that field."  
"Is that your way of saying I shouldn't ' _chews_ ' to continue?" Judy replied, smirking back at him. Nick's grin was infectious and Judy felt happier than she had in days. Nick rubbed his paw across her ears.  
"You're going to be swallowing your pride soon enough if you don't."  
Judy was about to reply when her own stomach made a nagging, gurgling sound. Her eyes went wide and she felt her ears heat up as Nick smirked down at her.  
"Guess someone else is thinking about eating the plants now." Judy glared at him, though she watched him stop, and begin to sniff the air. After a moment, he started again. "I remember seeing a cafeteria on that map and I can smell it coming from this direction."  
"Are you sure you're heading the right way this time?"  
Nick's stomach replied for him.


	16. CSI: Zootopia

 

Eventually they found the cafeteria, after wasting several minutes retracing their steps. Much to Judy's displeasure, and Nick's amusement, it turned out they had travelled in the opposite direction of the food court. He had managed several jests about rabbits and how they shouldn't give directions before his partner punched him hard enough in his arm to make it go partially numb.

Of course she had apologized swiftly afterwards, once she realized how hard she had truly hit him, but was secretly grateful he had stopped talking for a while. Even if she found she quite enjoyed the sound of his voice under the right circumstances.

"So, Carrots. Are you sure you don't want to try a fried cricket?"

Judy pushed the carton of fried insects away from her as the pair left the cafeteria. Nick shrugged, "Suit yourself," and popped the fried food into his mouth with a satisfying crunch. "Someday maybe I'll get you to come to your senses on these little guys." His eyes widened and he gave her a nudge. "Maybe you might like them if they're covered in chocolate? I know you like chocolate, Hopps. You wouldn't be even able to taste them…"

"Yes, I would," Judy replied, grimacing as Nick picked up the final few insects from the container and threw them all into his mouth at once, before tossing the container in a nearby trash can. "Eh, more for me then." Nick spotted a clock on the wall ahead of them, the time showing a quarter after 7pm. He nudged his partner. "Hey Carrots, looks like we're collecting overtime now."

The doe glanced at the clock, then shook her head. "We're just doing what Chief told us to do, so if we're late clocking out, then we're late. Besides, we still have work to do."

"I don't disagree with you at all, Carrots. I do enjoy the extra cushion it makes in my paycheck though," Nick replied as they continued down the hall. He let out a loud yawn, his teeth clicking as his mouth closed. "Though aren't we scheduled for PT with Ursula tonight?"

The rabbit groaned. She'd forgotten about that. She should probably radio in to HQ, so the bear wouldn't be waiting around for them. She was a hard taskmaster, but Judy knew she cared deeply about the officers she worked with. Bailing on their scheduled PT was just rude. Even more surprising was that they hadn't gotten a call on their radio about it. Judy unclipped her patrol radio and thumbed the transmit key.

"Hopps to HQ, over."

Judy waited a few moments, expecting to hear either a delighted squeal from Clawhauser or the swing shift dispatch officer, but only got static. After repeating her call with the same silence as a response, she quirked an eyebrow at Nick, who shrugged.

"It's these old government buildings, Carrots. No radio or cell reception."

Judy's ears drooped. Great she thought. Now I can't even let Ursula know we'll be late. I don't even want to think about how many extra laps that'll earn us. "Let's just drop the evidence off, see what the forensics mammals have for us then we can head back and see how much trouble we're in."

"Maybe Ursula could postpone it since we've already gotten our workout today?" He glanced at Judy, who shook her head. "Scratch that thought, don't know what I was thinking there. Ursula cancelling a workout? That's a cold day in Sahara Square..."

They walked in silence for a while, only stopping once to ask a cheetah if they were heading in the right direction towards the forensics lab, learning from their past experience getting lost just an hour earlier. The feline had nodded and told them it was only a little ways ahead of them. Nick finally broke the silence with a loud yawn.

"You know Carrots, once this is all over, I think we should take a trip out to Bunny Burrow. Visit your family, pick some blueberries, relax. You know how to relax, right?"

She grinned, ignoring the last part of his statement. It would be nice to go home and visit for once, the last time she had made it back was several months ago, and she had promised to come back soon to visit.

"Well, the blueberry harvest should be happening relatively soon," Judy exclaimed, watching Nick's ears suddenly perk up. "Plus the Carrot Days Celebration is happening in about a week, so maybe if we can wrap this up quickly we could make it to that." Her thoughts returned to her hometown, more specifically to her parents and how they were doing. Most of her older siblings were away with families of their own, while those in her own litter were either still at college or had moved away, leaving few older siblings to help them run the massive farm.

Well, she still had 219 siblings back at the farm, so maybe they were still quite a few paws to help out...she thought. She turned her attention back to Nick, who had a happy grin on his face.

"You had me at blueberries, Carrots." The fox licked his lips, just thinking about the berries made him hungry, even if he had just finished off two plates of pasta and a package of fried crickets. "Think your parents would mind if I just pitched a tent near the bushes and lived out there for a bit?"

"If you pay them for all the berries you'll have eaten, then maybe," Judy quipped with a smile.

"Would I qualify for a discount seeing as I'm your partner?"

"Maybe 5% off," Judy stated. "If you're lucky," she added with a wink.

Judy's response made Nick laugh. She's getting sharp! Must be all that time I spend teasing her.

Although, now that he was thinking about visiting her family, the first step in any relationship in his mind, maybe it was time for him to drop a few more hints? With how much Judy was on his mind lately, their partnership was becoming increasing difficult to navigate between his thoughts and feelings.

Maybe it was time for another nudge, but how to do it...

The fox brought his free paw up to his chin, deep in thought, buying time as he crafted just the right joke.

"Hmm, so you're saying that just being a friend or a partner to you wouldn't give me more than a 5% off discount then? Guessing I'd have to be something more, right?" He wiggled his eyebrows, confusing the rabbit.

"How about if I could get the family discount?"

Judy stared at him in confusion. "Huh?"

"Well, if I married you, then I'd get them for free, right?"

Judy stopped in her tracks as her eyes went wide. "What?"

"I know this great little chapel down in Sahara Square that could do that for us before we visit your family. Has a great Ylvis impersonator, a distant cousin of mine, who could perform the ceremony..."

Judy was too flabbergasted to speak. Her words sputtered out haphazardly, much to Nick's amusement.

"What, is the thought that I love your blueberries so much that I'd marry you for them sound so horrible?" He snickered as a scarlet blush ran quickly through her ears and cheeks.

"No! I mean, yes!" she finally spluttered. Though in her mind, only part of Nick's statement seemed insane, and with how fast her heart was starting to beat, she figured it wasn't the proposal portion. "That's a...a ludicrous idea! You can't just marry me for my family's blueberries!"

"Ah, so I need additional reasons, then. Good to know," he hummed, smiling to himself.

Judy's response devolved into half-words and mumblings, much to Nick's amusement. Hmm, the lady doth protest too much, me thinks…

"Nicolas Piberius Wilde, of all the crazy, half witted, irresponsible…"

"Wow, didn't know you objected to the idea that much," he chortled. "Guess I'm going to have to stick with the measly 5% discount then. Maybe if I were adopted instead, could I get them for free?"

"Nick…" she groaned, pulling her ears over her head, partly to hide the blush and also to not have to look at the smarmy grin plastered on his face.

"Just think of the headlines," he said, waving his free paw through the air. "Fox adopted into bunny family. New family photo takes weeks to take!"

"They do not take weeks, Nick.." Judy stammered, still using her drooping ears to try and cover her blush.

"Then how long do those take then, hmm?" She could feel his gaze settling on her, his half lidded eyes and that goofy grin.

She mumbled something softly, which provoked a chuckle from the fox. "I can't hear you darling, you'll have to speak up. I'm not a rabbit, yet."

"Six hours…" she said more loudly, earning a chuckle from Nick.

"Well, that's less than I thought it would have been, Carrots. Maybe once you adopt me into the family, or just, you know, marry me, then I can help get that time down to four." He winked, which only worsened her blush.

"Dumb fox…" she grumbled, trying to hide her amusement and failing miserably as she could tell he had noticed her smiling.

"You know you love me," he whispered back.

She knew the rest of the phrase they so jokingly had bantered back and forth in the past, but with Nick's joking marriage proposal still fresh in her mind, she couldn't manage the words. At least, not without wondering how much she was joking. No, Judy, you don't have time for those thoughts right now! There's a case to solve.

Instead, she just smiled and wrapped her arm around Nick's own.

The pair walked in relative silence the rest of the way to the forensics lab, arms linked and both enjoying the quiet.

"213...214…" she paused as they neared the next doorway. "This is it, room 215."

The lab wasn't what Judy had expected. Not that her unstated hopes about a dimly blue-lit space, filled with high-tech computers, glass walls and exciting techno music had been particularly realistic, but she couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed by the fluorescent white lights and cluttered government-issue tables and cubicles.

The sound of a clearing throat yanked Judy's attention away from surveying the lab and towards the glare of an angry, bespeckled raccoon.

"Well, if it isn't the famous dynamic duo of Officer Hopps and Wilde. I was wondering when you two would stop dawdling and arrive. Did the lazy fox take a snooze in the Batcave?"

Judy was flustered at the statement. It had only been maybe two hours since the press conference they had given, and the drive alone to get to the Ice Box had taken a half hour. Judy noticed Nick's ears lowering and the tell-tale signs of a smirk beginning to form, a sign he was preparing to give a sarcastic retort, so she quickly imposed before he could say anything.

"We apologize for any inconvenience we may have given you, Mister…?"

"Aroughcun," he muttered, looking back down at his desk. "Pronounced like raccoon, but just add an 'A' at the beginning. Whoever invented that name was apparently a genius. Or a fox." The raccoon snorted, beginning to scribble furiously on a piece of paper in front of him.

Judy felt a hint of anger seeping into her facade of trying to keep the peace in the room. As usual, when feeling stressed in the workplace, she fell back on procedure while she worked to smother a sharper retort.

"Here's the evidence collected by the ME," Judy said somewhat coldly while scratching her signature across the paperwork. "Relinquished to the lab, as soon as a raccoon signs for it." Oh man, she had been spending way too much time listening to Nick recently, to have used that 'raccoon' line without even thinking. "Now, if you wouldn't mind taking us through a summary of the evidence already submitted…"

The raccoon harrumphed, cutting her off as he signed the docket. "Was the enormous pile of evidence you sent here from Furzer not enough?" he asked patronizingly before gesturing to the evidence dolly. "Where would you like to start is the better question."

The raccoon took of his glasses and placed them on the table so he could rub his eyes. "It seems like when you guys gather evidence, you have the propensity for establishing an overwhelming burden of proof. Though I can understand it in this one's case," Aroughcun pointed towards Nick. "Always one to cover his tracks so others couldn't do their jobs right."

"Just doing my job, sir. I could always do yours as well if you'd like. Judging by the condition of this lab, I couldn't do much worse."

Judy was looking at her partner with a look of horrible trepidation. What is he thinking? She thought. Sure this Dr Aroughcun is acting like a jerk, but Nick had the motto of never letting things get to him.

"What are you thinking," she hissed quietly, jabbing his side. "We need him to help us, not kick us out!"

He returned her shocked expression with a smirk and a wink. She quickly refocused onto the forensic examiner, worried about what he would say about such a reply and trying to figure out a way to de-escalate whatever was happening between Nick and this raccoon. Though the reaction Aroughcun gave confused her even more.

He smirked.

"I see that your sense of humor hasn't dulled with your old age, Nick."

"Neither has yours, you old coot. Even if you didn't have much of it to begin with."

The examiner laughed loudly at the comment, shaking his head while putting his glasses back on. He hopped off his chair and circled his desk as Nick walked towards him. Nick pulled the shorter mammal into a tight hug, patting the older mammal on the back.

"Good to see you again, Jack."

"And good to see you're still in one piece, Nick."

Judy was staring back and forth between the two mammals, her confusion swallowing up all of her thoughts.

"Could somebody tell me what is going on here?" she finally stammered.

The two males broke their hug, with Nick looking a bit flustered. "Sorry about that Carrots. This here is Jack Aroughcun, one of my teachers way back when I was around 11. Decided he didn't like any of us after a while and moved on up in the world." The raccoon jabbed Nick in his side with an elbow, eliciting a chuckle from the fox.

"Wait," Judy was rubbing her temple, her eyes closed in both frustration and confusion. "So you two know each other then...?"

Nick nodded. "You would be correct there, Carrots." Judy felt a headache coming on. One Nick she could handle, but, basically two?

Sweet cheese and crackers...

"Did you know he worked here?" she finally blurted out, with a resigned look while staring at her partner.

"I had no idea he was here," Nick replied, his response oozing sarcasm as he laughed.

Judy just gaped at him. "You knew! And you just let me stand here and think he was serious about insulting you?" She jabbed her paw at Nick's chest repeatedly after each word. "Such an insufferable...fox!"

Nick laughed and rubbed his chest. "I knew he worked here, but not when he worked, so this is pleasent surprise"

Judy shook her head, a smile finally breaking forth through her anger. "I'm guessing you learned your charms from him then, eh Nick?"

"Oh, I like this one," Aroughcun guffawed, elbowing Nick in the side again. He walked over to Judy and put his paw out. "I think she's a keeper." Judy shook his paw, smiling as she did though a faint blush did appear under her fur at the raccoon's comment. She was thankful that either Nick hadn't heard the comment, or seen the hint of red beneath her cheeks.

"So," Aroughcun clasped his paws together. You'll be wanting a review of the evidence collected from Furzer and my conclusions. I've got the interesting stuff laid out over here, if you'll follow me?"

The doctor lead them through the somewhat cluttered lab, moving with a distracted grace around the various desks and workbenches that indicated just how much time he must spend in here. Judy managed to follow without disturbing anything, her small size and natural agility helping, while Nick, somewhat distracted by looking curiously at all the lab equipment, occasionally bumped an elbow or tail and grumbled accordingly.

After a particularly loud thump, followed by the rattling of some glassware, Dr. Aroughcun glanced over his shoulder and quirked an eyebrow.

"If you wouldn't mind, Officer Hopps, do your best to keep that clumsy fox from making a mess and destroying my lab?"

Judy couldn't keep from giggling between the look of mock disdain on her partner's face or the smirk on the raccoons. "So basically, you're just asking me to do what I normally do each day," Judy replied with a wink towards the older predator, as well as to Nick's chagrin.

"Wow, Carrots. Way to support your partner."

She smiled. "You're welcome, Nick."

The fox chuckled. "Such a helpful bunny."

"And such a clumsy fox."

"Alright, if you two lovebirds are finished flirting," Aroughcun interrupted, promoting a sudden coughing fit from the fox. Judy blushed under her fur, stealing a glance at Nick who was nervously smiling as he coughed.

"Let's start with what we know so far, then start into the evidence from Furzer to see if we can identify a pattern or motive. Judy said, eyeing Nick who finally managed to control his coughs. Both fox and raccoon looked at each other before Aroughcan chuckled.

"She's a fan of crime shows I take it?"

Nick nodded, though stopped quickly as Judy narrowed her eyes at him.

"It could also just be that we're cops who are trying to solve this case through following advisable procedures. Now, we have quite a lot to go over and would appreciate it if you would start helping us."

Aroughcun chuckled as Judy's furrowed brows lowered even further at the sound. The raccoon shuffled over to her, surprising her by holding his paw out to her, clutching his fingers in to form a fist.

She stood, puzzled for a moment, then reluctantly returned the paw-bump while Aroughcun shook his head.

"Then let's get started, shall we Officer Hopps?" he stated, smiling at the rabbit. He turned, waving her and Nick over to the table nearby. "So, let's see if we can find this pattern of yours. I've skimmed your report about what happened, but that's not the same thing as having you here to take me through it yourself. The little details matter."

Judy nodded and took the lead as Nick folded his arms over his chest and watched her speak. She explained in detail about what had occurred at Furzer, pointing to each piece of evidence she brought up while speaking. Ever the analytical mammal, she even organized the evidence according to a timeline of when it was created. From the lab documents they searched through, to the tainted carrots that were kept in a sealed biohazard bag.

By the time Nick knew the story would be wrapping up, he almost wanted to clap. She has a better mind than Yax...he chuckled inwardly, and he began wondering why she needed a carrot recording pen in the first place.

The entire time Dr Aroughcun was silent, nodding only when Judy asked if she could arrange the evidence in order of its creation in the case. When she finished, he put his paw to his chin, scratching it lightly.

"Well," he finally stated. "I can see why we have all of this now. He wandered over to the bag of carrots, "Though this," he held up the bag in his gloved paw, "is probably more important than anything else at this point." He dropped the bag to the table with a dull thud. "You said it had Midnicampum holicithias pollen on it, correct?"

Judy nodded. "It smelled like it, at least, though, when we asked Mr Shepherd's assistant Phil about it, he didn't know how it would have gotten there as they were doing tests on extending the shelf life of carrots. Which didn't have anything to do with Shepherd's previous work regarding nighthowlers."

"Curious," the raccoon muttered. "And the rabbit, Mr Sprintz, ate some of the tainted carrots before he turned savage?"

"That would be correct, Jack," Nick said. "He went savage shortly after taking a bite."

Aroughcun shuffled over to some instruments on a nearby counter, waving them to follow him. He picked up a remote and pressed a button, turning on a large tv screen near the machine. "I took the liberty of running a few tests on a sample of the carrots that were brought in. Chemical analysis, that sort of thing, to see if this was your run of the mill nighthowler reaction, or something different."

He pressed a few buttons on the machine, causing two images to appear on the tv, side by side.

"From the carrots you provided, I isolated the nighthowler-derived compounds. On the right, we have the active ingredient sample from a regular Midnicampum holicithas flower, the base component of the Bellweather serum. The other side shows the chemical make-up of the substance found on the carrots at Furzer."

"They're different…" Judy's eyebrows raised.

"How are they different, doc?" Nick added, looking between the two images. "You remember my grades from basic biology and chemistry."

Judy looked at Nick with a puzzled expression. "Wait, you were taking biology and chemistry when you were in the 5th grade?"

Nick looked at her strangely, "What do you mean by the 5th grade?"

"Oh," Judy nervously held her paws in front of her. "Well, if you were hustling by the time you were 12, that means you weren't in school, so you must have taken those classes before then, right?"

Nick's eyes widened, then lowered to his near perpetual half lidded expression. Most mammals couldn't read him through that poker face, but Judy knew he was trying to avoid a conversation.

"Nick, I know that look. What are you hiding from me."

Nick chuckled, scratching his ears nervously. "Remember that month before I left for the academy, when I kind of disappeared a lot?"

Judy nodded. "Of course, you said you had some loose ends to tie up before you could go to the academy."

"Well, in order to go to the academy, you need to finish certain...scholastic requirements."

'Scholastic requirements?' thought Judy. She glanced at Nick, who smiled nervously.

"Nick, the only requirement schooling wise was that you either graduated from high school or completed your GED…"

Judy's eyes widened and her paw flew to her mouth as the realization of her statement hit her.

"You only finished your GED just before the academy?"

The fox lowered his head, laughing nervously. "Wow Carrots, you sure know how to make me feel better about not graduating in the first place."

Judy's ears dropped and her paws shot up to her mouth. "Oh, no, no. I didn't mean it like that Nick. I meant that I thought you would have had it already, since you seemed to know so much about so many topics. I mean, I know you said you were hustling the streets by the time you were 12, but I just thought you still went to school during that time…"

"You're rambling, Carrots." Nick was staring at his partner.

"Not that you seem like a mammal that would neglect studying, or anything of course. I know you take great care of yourself, and you always are looking nice, even if your outfits are atrocious…"

"Judy…"

She paused mid-sentence, smiling nervously at her partner who just chuckled.

"Yes, I didn't complete high school. Yes, it isn't something I'm proud of, but, it also isn't a touchy subject for me. We're good, Fluff." Nick jabbed a paw towards Aroughcun, who was flashing a half smirk at the rabbit. "And you have this guy to thank for me finally getting it."

"It seems like Nick here just needed the proper motivation to his life going, which you seem to have provided, Officer Hopps." Aroughcun added. "When he called me up out of the blue, and asked me to help him prep for his GED to get into the police academy, I thought it was all a joke at first!"

Aroughcun guffawed loudly, slapping his knee much to Judy's amusement as Nick grumbled beside her.

"But he insisted, and boy, is this fox determined. Usually takes months for someone to study enough to feel like they can pass that test. Nick here did it in three weeks." Aroughcun smiled at Judy. "Where were you 22 years ago, he could have used the kick in the pants back then. Too bad he didn't have the motivation to continue with his studies back then."

"I'm perfectly content with where I ended up, Jack." Nick walked over to Judy and leaned his chin on top of her head, bending her ears to frame his muzzle.

Judy gave a small sigh of contentment, before she processed Aroughcun's statement. Ducking out from under him, while ignoring his quiet whine at losing his headrest, she turned to look at Nick with concern. "What do you mean, if he would have continued?" She gauged Nick's response to her question, knowing it was making him squirm, but was eager to know more about his past. If he was 11 when Aroughcun was his teacher, that was a year before he was on the streets, living on his own.

What happened to you Nick?

"Well, he had some trouble with…"

"What were you saying about the difference between the two samples, doctor?" Nick's words were icy, and the edge of familiarity was gone as he called out his old mentor by his title, rather than his name.

Aroughcun hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "Alright, it isn't my place to say anything." The raccoon pointed a finger at the fox, his eyebrows lowering. "Though as your partner, I think you can trust her with your past. She's clearly an important part of your future." Nick looked about ready to reply, but clamped his mouth shut. He turned to look at Judy, his expression softening as he mouthed the words, later.

"You better tell her later, as until then, I'm revoking your sly card. Your attempt at derailing the conversation was atrocious at best."

"But it worked," Nick replied, though right after he spoke his ears went down again and he couldn't meet Judy's gaze.

Aroughcun snorted. "As I was saying before, the chemical properties of each sample have the same base structure, but the new sample has some additional side-groups that differentiate it."

"It was pollen though," Judy stated. "I know what I smelled at the lab."

"You're not wrong, Officer Hopps, but you're not completely right either. You were smelling aromatic compounds found in nighthowler pollen, that were also present in the chemical mixture found on the tainted carrots. However, it didn't come from any nighthowler you would find in the wild."

Aroughcun sighed when he noticed neither animal following him. "I'll try to explain it this way." He turned his back to both Nick and Judy and faced the screen. "Certain plants, like nighthowlers, create chemical compounds that deter things that want to eat them, as a defense mechanism. For nighthowlers, that substance is a trace neurotoxin. When consumed in large amounts, it has a deleterious effect on most mammal species, hence why mammals don't eat them."

"But doc," interrupted Nick. "The Bellweather serum didn't need to be eaten, and it didn't take much of it to make the victims go savage."

"That's true. The Bellweather serum was an extremely concentrated version of the neurotoxin. I haven't reviewed the interrogations of her chemist, but I imagine it took several kilograms of nighthowler plants to extract enough of the toxin to make each of those serum globes. In addition, the serum had several added chemicals to increase skin permeability, so contact was a viable means of getting the toxin into the bloodstream. Actually eating the flowers is a fairly inefficient method of introducing the toxin, and rather slow, as it needs to pass through the digestive system before being absorbed."

"But Sprintz went savage immediately after eating the treated carrots!" Judy objected. "Are you saying that didn't happen?"

Aroughcun waved his hands at the agitated rabbit, realizing he had accidentally pushed one of her buttons. "Not at all, Officer Hopps. I have no doubt your report on the rabbit's behaviour was accurate. But I believe that it was primarily caused by him inhaling the concentrated vapours from the sealed carrot bag, not by eating the carrots themselves."

Judy and Nick both blanched at that bit of information. "Jack," Nick's use of the raccoon's first name signalled just how shocked and worried he was to the raccoon. "Judy and I both breathed those fumes as well. I sniffed the bag myself, and Judy was close enough to smell the pollen."

Judy shuddered at the memory of that smell. Her paw unconsciously sought out Nick's and then both squeezed for comfort, too nervous and distracted to be embarrassed at the display. Not that the doctor even noticed, as he turned back to the display screen with the excitement of a true teacher about to impart wisdom.

"Ah! Very true. But now we come to the important difference between these chemicals. As I mentioned, there are new side-chains on the active molecule not found in that produced by garden variety Midnicampum holicithas. I surmise that someone has been doing genetic engineering or cross-breeding of nighthowlers, to end up with this modified strain. I won't know for sure without some of the actual plant to examine, of course, but my gut says this chemical was from a completely new, engineered species of holicithas."

A new species of holicithas. Judy's mind reeled at the idea that someone had decided it would be a good idea to concoct a new species of that plant in order to produce a drug that was even worse than its predecessor. She gulped nervously, squeezing Nick's paw more tightly in her own as Aroughcun continued.

"The nighthowler toxin causes savage behaviour by suppressing higher reasoning function in the mammalian brain, essentially forcing the victim to fall back on their baser instincts. In addition, it causes aggression by increasing epinephrine production and suppressing pain and fear signals. The affected mammal cannot think, is in a heightened fight-or-flight response, and will have a reduced reaction to pain or fear stimuli, hence the tendency to attack anything nearby that could be perceived as a threat."

"Sprintz didn't attack anyone, though." mumbled Judy, still clearly distracted by the revelation that she had been even partially exposed to the nighthowlers. "He ran away from everybody."

"Exactly!" shouted Aroughcun, startling both Nick and Judy. The resulting flinch made them realize they were still holding paws, both mammals yanking their arms back and giving each other embarrassed looks.

"One of the changes caused by these side-chains is the loss of the fear-dampening effect. In fact," the doctor manipulated the keyboard, causing a third image to appear. "There is an additional chemical additive I found along with the nighthowler chemicals. It's from a discontinued line of dementia medication that was intended to reduce aggression, but was found to be too effective and caused a heightened fear response in test subjects. Taken together, these chemicals would cause an extreme fear response."

Nick, still looking nervous, raised his hand, not wanting to interrupt the exuberant doctor in full instruction-mode. Aroughcun gave a little smirk at the uncharacteristic hesitancy from the fox.

"Ah, Nick. You're wondering why you didn't feel anything like that, even though you sniffed the bag, yes?" At the fox's nod, the doctor continued.

"That is because of the second important thing these side-chains do to the chemical. You both know there are things that affect some mammal species, but not others. Most canines should not eat chocolate, for example. Usually that is because different species' biology interacts with chemicals in different ways. You know that ruminant species can digest cellulose, but the three of us cannot. They have specialized structures that we lack. In the case of the modified nighthowler, these additional side-chains block the chemical molecule from interacting with neurotransmitter receptors in the brain of most mammalian species. You," Aroughcun pointed at Nick, "and myself would not be affected neurologically by this modified nighthowler. My research suggests that only members of the order Lagomorpha, which contains rabbits like Officer Hopps here, or the hare, Sprintz, have receptors that can accommodate the new chemical."

Seeing the confusion on Judy's face, he continued. "I can only surmise, Officer Hopps, that you were unaffected because the concentration you inhaled was too low to cause any symptoms. As I said, the Bellweather serum was incredibly concentrated in order to have such a rapid effect on its victims. You also stated that Sprintz lacked a sense of smell, so he wasn't deterred from breathing deeply and normally as he inspected the contaminated carrots from close-range. You, however, easily detected the chemicals and moved away. Would I be correct in guessing you also breathed shallowly, to avoid the smell?"

Judy nodded.

"Well there you have it, between the distance and your shallow breathing, you didn't inhale enough of the chemical. It is rather heavy, as molecules go, and isn't suspended well in the air anyways. You would need to be very close to inhale a sufficient amount to go savage."

Judy visibly calmed at that news. While learning about a rabbit-specific nighthowler was still enough to give her nightmares, knowing that she couldn't accidentally inhale it with a single breath and immediately go nuts was still reassuring.

Nick found the news anything but reassuring. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the still-nervous Judy, before looking back at Doctor Aroughcun.

"Hold on a minute doc." Nick's ears shot up and he pointed a paw at the screens. "Are you telling me that whatever was added to those carrots, was intentionally targeting rabbits?"

Aroughcun nodded as met his former student's gaze, the delighted teacher fading to be replaced by the solemn forensic toxicologist. "Oh yes. It's hard to believe the modifications would have taken place by accident."

Nick shifted his attention immediately to Judy, who appeared numbed by the news. She slowly turned her eyes towards him, her mind clearly spinning at a thousand miles an hours behind those amythest pools. He quickly re-focused on his teacher.

"Is there a way to create something to combat the effects of this new drug?" He turned to look at his partner, missing the heavy sigh from the raccoon. "I mean, we have the auto-injectors to combat the nighthowler serum if an officer is hit by it, why couldn't we have that for this?"

"Well, it is possible to develop something along those lines that could prevent lagomorphs from being affected as greatly by this new toxin, however, it would be a costly process and only a few labs in the world have the time, or resources and talent, to develop something that affects such a limited population. Plus, we'd need a lot more of this new neurotoxin than what we have currently. The chemical breaks down relatively quickly, and I was lucky to get all the information I did before my samples became useless. We'd need extensive samples of the original source plant to even have a chance at creating a countermeasure."

The fox threw his paws in the air, startling both Judy and the doctor, and took a step forward, his anger suddenly kindled. "What do you mean, such a limited population. There are tens of millions of rabbits in Bunny Burrow alone! Rabbits probably make up a huge portion of Zootopia's population so why wouldn't they make a vaccine to fix this?"

"Nick, that isn't how medicine works. You can't create a vaccine for a neurotoxin." The raccoon removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Look, I agree with you that I'd like to see a cure for any type of ailment out there, but this wouldn't be considered a worldwide catastrophe, and, to be blunt, this isn't like rabies or some other disease that affects all Zootopians equally. It doesn't spread like a disease. The original nighthowler serum had over 20 cases, an enormous amount of political and public pressure, and could affect any mammal, even if we only saw its effects on predators. So far, we have one confirmed case of this new drug, and I don't even have any sample remaining, so nobody can do any further testing, or even reproduce my analysis!"

He sighed heavily, his frustration showing as his voice lowered. "Not many companies would take such a huge financial risk to combat a street drug that only affects rabbits and hares, and so far hasn't caused any real damage."

Nick growled, folding his arms. "Maybe they should spend the resources to do it."

"Again, I agree with you, Nick," Aroughcun shot out, rubbing his temple as he took a seat in a nearby chair. "The original nighthowler serum antidote isn't even produced in large quantities and is only given to specific at-risk individuals, such as emergency responders like yourselves."

"Then we need to tell them to make one for emergency responders!" Nick shouted.

"To my knowledge, there is only one emergency responder who would be affected by this. Are you saying a company should create a multi-million dollar project, that would only be given to one mammal?" Aroughcun stared down the fox, watching as Nick's eyes betrayed his emotions, going from anger, to hurt, and finally, sadness. His shoulders finally slumped and he sighed heavily before responding to his teacher.

"Yes."

Aroughcun shook his head. "I applaud you for your tenacity, but I'm wondering how you managed to hustle for so long on the streets if your business savvy is this atrocious."

The fox readied for a retort when he felt a gentle tug on his arm. His head turned to see Judy staring at him, her expression fierce compared to what it was just moments before.

"Nick, we have to examine the van from Furzer."

That was not what Nick expected her to say. He wasn't sure what he had expected, but it certainly wasn't to go charging off towards possible rabbit-targeted danger!

"We just learn that whoever dosed those carrots in that lab, did so to specifically target rabbits. And we also know there is only one rabbit in the ZPD, who just also so happens to be one of the lead investigators on this case. Those carrots were clearly planted for you, Judy!"

He kneeled down, placing his paws on Judy's shoulders. "And with the short shelf-life, we know they didn't just leave them there by happenstance! They found out we were going to be serving a warrant and left a time-bomb that would only go off if you collected them. Knowing all that, you still want to go check out the Furzer van?" Nick asked incredulously.

"Whoever was in that van, is responsible for all of this. We need to find them, and stop them, now. If there is any evidence that could help us find them, it will be in that vehicle."

"Carrots," Nick started, rubbing his ears with his paw. "I know you want to find this murderer as much as I do, but we can't go off rushing into things again. Why don't we call Delgato and Fangmeyer so they can go pick it up and we can call it a day, then investigate it in the morning."

Nick didn't know why he was suggesting such an idea. Well, he knew why. This case just became so much more dangerous than he had ever imagined. He had just learned his partner was the main target of this psychopath, whoever it was, and that they had developed a toxin specifically made for her.

Nick couldn't let them get to her. Not under his watch.

"Nick! We need to go now. Delgato and Fangmeyer are off-shift and..."

"I think Bogo was right," Nick continued, cutting off Judy mid-sentence. She stopped, her eyes narrowing.

Judy flinched and took a step forward. "What do you mean, Nick."

The fox looked at her. "This case has become way too dangerous for you...us." Nick failed to catch the slip of the tongue, and watched as Judy's eyes narrowed further.

The silence in the room was deafening.

"Do you think I can't handle this, Nick?"

Nick winced at the sharpness in her voice and the anger kindled in her eyes. "No, it isn't that...its…"

"It's, what, Nick? I know you don't think of me as some token bunny or that I can't handle this case, so what's the real reason why you don't want for me to follow up on our best lead?"

Nick tried to speak, but ended up clamping his mouth shut in frustration. He couldn't bring himself to say what he wanted to say or do. To just grasp onto her shoulders and shout at her that she was the target and he didn't want her to end up like Sprintz, or worse. That he couldn't bare to see that happen to her.

In the end, he only sighed, releasing his frustration in one breath. "Nevermind, let's go get that van." Nick turned and ambled out of the room, his tail dragging behind him as Judy was staring at him in frustration.

"Nick!" She shouted at him, only to feel a paw on her shoulder. She turned to see Aroughcun looking down at her.

"Officer Hopps, can I call you Judy?"

She hesitated, but nodded slowly.

"Judy, I think you know the reason why Nick doesn't want you going to that van."

"I can't read his mind," she sputtered loudly, waving her paws in Nick's direction as the fox pushed open the doors to the lab.

"Nick talks a good game, but usually his words hide what he's really thinking. You need to read his actions."

"His actions are to suggest I shouldn't be on this case!" Judy angrily replied, not understanding, or her mind was not willing to try to understand what Aroughcun was saying.

"That's right. But you should be asking yourself why Nick wouldn't want you on the case. He knows you're a good cop. So why does he still want you to back off from this one, at least for now?"

Judy furrowed her brow, still not sure what the doctor was getting at and still rather furious at Nick, but at least now she was thinking about it instead of just reacting.

The older mammal smiled, then patted her shoulder. "You should probably head out after him. Who knows what trouble he'll get into wandering the building without his partner's supervision." Judy nodded and turned to leave.

"They certainly are quite the pair," Aroughcun laughed to himself as he watched the rabbit leave his lab. "Even if neither of them see it themselves..."

He quickly sat down in front of his computer, beginning to type as a single thought flashed through his mind.

Well, not yet, at least...

The trip to the city's impound lot, dubbed, "The Scrapyard", among the ZPD officers, was only a 10 minute drive from the forensics lab. Given how Judy was angrily giving Nick the silent treatment, with bonus glaring, the ride felt a lot longer.

Deciding discretion was the better part of valour, Nick didn't push the angry rabbit and tried to distract himself by watching the play of police lights reflecting off the icy Tundratown sidewalks. It was getting late, though, so Nick had refrained from using the siren as well, no matter how much he wanted to reach their destination faster and end the uncomfortable silence.

For her part, Judy was diligently focused on the icy roads. And if that gave her an excuse to completely ignore her partner, so be it. As they pulled up to the gate for the impound lot, Judy suddenly realized why it had garnered its nickname.

The 'Scrapyard' itself was just a large, fenced-in parking lot. The fence was topped with barbed wire, the few street lights built into the fence were shorted out. What little of the lot could be seen from the street was filled with cars and trucks of various ages and states of repair, many buried in snowdrifts or covered in icicles from long periods of disuse in the arctic weather.

The building for the impound lot was barely larger than Nick and Judy's office at Precinct 1. No grandiose public building like at the Ice Box or ZPD headquarters, just what appeared more like a larger than normal guard shack, illuminating by a single street lamp hanging overhead. It appeared empty, as they drove up, parking their cruiser just outside the main gate. At least the tow truck was there, parked beside the guard shack as promised by the IceBox receptionist. Given how desolate the place looked, Nick had been nursing some doubts that the vehicle would be there.

"Well, not much we can do here if we can't even get in the gate," Nick huffed. "Any ideas, Carrots?" He glanced at her, hoping that she would reply and finally end the silence between them.

The rabbit seated next to him was staring at the quaint guard shack, and Nick could tell she was both frustrated and trying to find a solution at the same time.

"Maybe the door's unlocked and we can just walk in," Nick joked, trying to lighten the mood. Judy's gaze snapped towards him and for a moment, Nick felt like he had again crossed a line his partner. He was relieved when a hint of a smile formed, though most of the coldness from earlier remained.

"That's actually not a bad idea. At least coming from a dumb fox like yourself."

He deserved that one, Nick could admit to himself. Though her smile confused him and he raised an eyebrow as she continued.

"Worst-case scenario, I'll just have you climb the fence, like the last parking lot we investigated."

"Um… Carrots, that fence wasn't topped with barbed wire. This one is."

"Well then, Nick, you better hope that you're right and the door is unlocked." Judy replied impishly as she unbuckled her belt.

"I was kidding," he stated as she popped open her door, letting a freezing blast of arctic air inside what used to be a warm cruiser. She hopped down from the vehicle, only her ears visible over the car hood. Nick grumbled as he undid his seatbelt and opened his own door to follow her.

He froze when a light inside the guard shack suddenly turned on.

"Hey Nick, you were right! It was open!" Judy's cheerful voice rang through the open air.

Nick muttered to himself about how daft the guard must have been to leave the gatehouse unlocked and dropped down to the snowy ground. He sucked in a deep breath as the cold seeped into his paws, and quickly shut the door to the cruiser and jogged into the shack, shutting the door behind him against the cold.

Inside, he found Judy opening and closing the guard's desk drawers, trying to find the key to the locked gate. Nick snickered to himself as he listened to the bunny growing more and more frustrated, while he began scanning the room. He had much better night vision than she did and, although the ceiling light was technically on, it was clear most of the bulbs were burnt out since the shack wasn't exactly bright. It wasn't long before his eyes settled upon a small plant in a pot on the desk and he couldn't contain his smirk.

"Carrots, I thought out of all the places inside here, you, a bunny coming from a multi-generation family of farmers, would have checked this out first." Judy was staring at him, then groaned as the fox pointed towards the plant on the table. It was probably one of the worst looking fake flowerpot she had ever seen. Even the 'dirt' it was planted in looked horribly wrong now that she was focused on it. Nick chuckled as he lifted the flower from the stem, revealing a hidden spot underneath. Judy reached in, her paws bringing up a single, silver key.

"Do I get an 'A' in my horticulture class now, Officer Farmer?" Nick soothed. He laughed as she playfully shoved him as her reply, glad that they were at least on good enough terms again for Judy's playfulness to return.

"Oh hush. I can barely see anything in here."

"And that's why you have such an amazing partner like myself here to help a poor, night blind bunny."

Judy rolled her eyes, but still letting out a giggle as she headed towards the door, her mood towards the snarky fox improving, even if she wasn't ready to forgive him yet for their fight in the lab.

"Come on, you dumb fox, let's get that van and get back to the Icebox so we can find our killer."

She opened the door, letting another blast of tepid air to hit them in a wave, causing Nick to stop and shiver. She waved at him to follow and he did, stopping after only a step, something on the door giving him pause.

"What is it Nick?" She walked back towards him, as he gently pulled the door all the way opened, examining it carefully.

"Someone else has been here tonight, Carrots," he finally muttered, pointing towards the door's latch on the inside. She pulled out her phone, tapping a button as a bright light illuminated the doorframe. On the inside of the door near the bolt, the wood had been splintered.

"How did I miss that?" Judy exclaimed, feeling a bit of anxiety welling in the bottom of her stomach.

Who else would want to sneak into an impound lot at night?

"I think we need to pick up that van quickly, Carrots." Nick was speaking softly, though the gleam in his eyes were anything but. "I'm beginning to think we're not the only ones after it."

Judy nodded quickly, jogging over to the fence and unlatching the lock quickly. As she did so, she noticed that the fence behind the guard shack had been neatly clipped, probably with heavy-duty wire cutters. So whoever had broken into the guard shack didn't find the key, and decided to make their own entrance, Judy realized as she opened the gate. Nick hopped in the cruiser, guiding it into the lot as Judy pushed the gates open. As soon as he was through, he killed the engine, but kept the lights on to illuminate the area.

Judy hurried to the cruiser as the fox began to get out again. "Nick, I think we should call this in. We didn't let anyone else know we were here from the precinct and this area is way too large for us to cover by ourselves."

Nick nodded, pulling the radio down from the dashboard of the cruiser. "Dispatch, this is cruiser 113. Do you copy, over?"

The excited voice of Clawhauser chirped from the radio within a second. "This is dispatch. What are you and Judy doing out so late, Nick? Bogo's been looking for you."

The vulpine gulped and looked at his partner. "We gotta make this quick, Bogo's looking for us already."

Judy groaned. "That's not good."

"Dispatch, we're currently at the impound lot in Tundratown and found the guard shack broken into," Judy tapped Nick on the shoulder and gestured to the hole in the fence. Nick nodded. "And a hole cut in the fence. We're beginning a sweep of the area, and request backup, over."

Silence settled over them as they awaited the reply from the cheetah. After nearly a minute, the radio crackled to life, the booming voice of Chief Bogo causing them to jump.

"Hopps, Wilde, you better have a good explanation for why you aren't with Ursula right now. She is right up my tail as you were supposed to be here an hour ago!"

Nick looked nervously at Judy, who was appearing quite nervous herself. She was scanning the area around them, listening to any and all noises that she might be able to hear on the relatively quiet night.

"Sorry Chief, we're following up on a lead from the forensics lab and needed to get access to the van from Furzer. We were going to bring it to the lab, but it looks like someone has broken into the impound lot. Could you send some additional units as backup while we perform a search? We promise we'll talk to Ursula to get her off your case once we're finished here."

"Nick!" Judy hissed, patting his arm, quickly gaining the fox's attention. Her ears were standing straight up, aimed towards a far corner of the lot. "I hear someone."

The radio crackled to life again, but Nick quickly spoke over the Chief. "Chief, the intruder is still on-site and we're proceeding to engage. Send backup. Out."

Nick slammed the radio back onto the dash as the angry yelling of Bogo could be heard before Nick shut the door, leaving the lights on the cruiser to illuminate the lot for his partner.

"Judy, I'll cover you. Just lead us to the sounds you heard." In the faint light, Nick with his night vision could see her nodding before she went jogging ahead. He swiftly followed, pulling his tranq pistol and flashlight from his belt as he ran.

Judy's muscles were tense as she led the pair towards the sound she had heard. It had been faint, but she knew it was the sound of a car door being shut, and with no other buildings around the lot, it had to have come from inside. The lights from the cruiser cast long shadows across the lot, creating an eerie feeling as they stalked across the lot.

When they neared the edge of the lot, she raised her paw and they both stopped. Her ears twisted this way and that as they waited. She slowly began moving again, only for Nick to place a paw on her shoulder, stopping her. He pointed towards a large white van parked in between two trucks.

"Looks like our vehicle," Nick whispered. Judy nodded, then both froze as they heard the sound of metal crashing against metal.

"That came from behind the van," Judy whispered back to Nick and both crept forward. She pulled her own tranq pistol from its holster, ready to fire when a dark shape shot out from between the van and one of the trucks, heading towards the opposite end of the lot.

"Stop, police!" Nick shouted. The figure kept running and Judy was already sprinting after the mystery figure. Nick raced after her, keeping a firm grip on his pistol just in case.

The two zig-zagged their way through the lot, with Judy bolting so fast around some of the vehicles while giving chase she had to jump against them as she turned to keep from sliding out of control. Several car alarms went off as she used them as launch points in her effort to catch the mysterious intruder.

Nick was trying his best to keep up, but could barely keep Judy within eyesight as they twisted and turned through the lot. He followed her around a large elephant vehicle, only to lose complete track of her in the dark.

This isn't good.

"Judy!" he yelled, now reduced to following the pawprints in the otherwise undisturbed snow, slowing his chase considerably. He followed the prints, hearing the sounds of the chase ahead, muffled by the car alarms going off all around him.

He barely heard the hooves scraping against the concrete heading towards him from behind.

Nick turned, only to see a dark shape barreling towards him, an arm outstretched and headed straight for his chest. His training took over instantly as he dodged the punch thrown at him, all while grabbing the attacker's arm and twisted it up as Nick turned his body. The movement vaulted the assailant right over top of Nick, clipping his shoulder in the process as he flipped the animal to the ground.

The twisting movement that Nick instinctively did from months of training at the academy had done something else. He felt a surge of pain go through his side near his ribs and he gasped aloud while falling to his knees. He grit his teeth, and bore through the pain as he reached for his pawcuffs.

The moment of hesitation was all the attacker needed and as Nick reached for his cuffs, he felt a hoof connect to his cheek.

Stars flooded his vision as his body jerked backwards, slamming against a truck behind him. He heard the animal getting up as he shook his head clear of the swarm of black dots and lights flooding his vision. He put a paw to his cheek, pulling it back as he felt a warm liquid on his paws.

The sound of lighter footsteps caught him off guard as Judy sprinted around the corner and nearly ran into him.

"Nick! What happened?" She asked, able to make out the shape of him shaking his head and a slight wobble to his step as he stood.

"Guess he backtracked into me, managed to flip him to the ground..." Nick replied, wiping the blood from his cheek with his paw. He stopped when he was about to say what happened next. The surge of pain in his side causing him that moment's hesitation, earning him his newest scar. He looked at Judy, his vision finally clearing and saw her concern. He'd have to tell her later about the pain, if he could tell her at all.

"...though he managed to clip me and run off," he finally completed.

"Did you see what they looked like?" she asked, stepping forward to trace her paw over Nick's cheek. He winced slightly.

"Well, unless he was made up of stars and black dots, then no." The jingling of a metal fence nearby caused them to turn in that direction.

"Come on! We can still catch him!" Judy cried, darting off after the sound. Nick jogged after her, pushing the pain in his side and head to the back of his mind as he focused on his job; catching the bad guy and making sure Judy didn't have to face him alone.

Judy made it to the fence in seconds, and looked down the length of it trying to find where the intruder had gone. She heard the pounding of hooves against metal as a car alarm went off to her right. She turned in that direction, managing to see the assailant jumping from the roof of a car and over the barbed wire fence and onto the other side..

So he has hooves, it seems...Judy thought as she stored that information for later. She quickly found a large snow pile around the fence and began burrowing into it. By the time Nick made it to the fence barely two seconds behind her, she was already popping her head out of the snow on the other side.

"Come on Nick!" she waved, charging off after the animal. "Jump over using the car!" She pointed towards the vehicle the intruder had used to leap over the fence. Nick groaned, then quickly sprinted towards the large pachyderm sized sedan, jumping onto the hood before climbing his way onto the roof. He breathed out deeply, eyeing a snowdrift on the other side of the fence for where to land. Bouncing on his paws before dashing the short distance forward, he leapt over the fence.

Nick landed in a puff of snow, thankfully only sending minute waves of pain through his side. He clenched his teeth and pulled himself out of the snow pile, shaking it off before dashing after his partner. There is no way I'm letting her run off by herself, or letting this crook escape.

Her mind went back to the two mammals in the morgue. They needed to be have justice, and they were going to deliver it tonight.

Nick had been sprinting after his partner for blocks now, only the marginally brighter streetlights and lack of impounded cars to block the view allowing him to stay in sight of her. Judy was father ahead of him now, being faster than him even if he were uninjured, and he was losing ground to both her and the mystery mammal they were chasing due to the throbbing originating in his ribs. His side burned, yet he pushed himself to go faster. If this mammal had any connection to the previous murders, Nick did not want Judy to be alone against a dangerous criminal.

Especially if they had any of the rabbit neurotoxin on him. The thought spurred him forward even faster.

"Judy!" he yelled, his lungs on fire as he kept trying to spring after the rabbit. He saw her ears twist towards him in the light flurry of snow.

"Come on, Nick! We can catch him!" she yelled back to him over her shoulder, though slightly worried at how far behind he appeared to be. She waved her paw in a motion that seemed to be asking him to hurry and catch up to her.

He stared ahead at the dark shadow they were chasing. Judy was gaining on the shadowy figure which appeared even larger than Nick. Even a second could be the difference between life and death should the suspect they were chasing now also turned out to be their murderer. He found himself gaining slightly on Judy as they turned out of the alley and onto a side road.

During the day, Tundratown is actually quite a nice place to visit. No amount of artificially created snow and the giant air conditioners that lowered the temperature below freezing could keep it that way once the midday sun was shining. All through the day, a good amount of the snow would melt, pooling into puddles which then re-froze overnight. It created a traffic nightmare when the streets weren't taken care of, and was an even greater hazard on the back roads where the Zootopian Department of Transportation rarely made it for regular de-icing.

Nick was the unfortunate soul who had just found one of those, now frozen, puddles. He had been so focused on catching up to his partner, not leaving her to take down a potentially dangerous criminal by herself, one that was targeting her species specifically, that he failed to notice the light from the moon reflecting on the sheen of ice before him.

His eyes widened in shock as his paws slid out from underneath him, sending him in an uncontrolled slide towards the road as he tried to take the corner at full speed. He tumbled to the ground, sliding and rolling to a stop on his side as the gravel from the road, ironically spread to prevent slipping on ice in the first place, tore into his fur and flesh. He yelped loudly at the pain which flooded through his body.

Judy heard the anguished yelp behind her and skid to a stop, nearly losing her balance on the snowy terrain. She turned to see her partner lying in the middle of the road, gripping his side and whining loud enough for her to hear from where she stood several dozen yards away.

"Nick!"

The rabbit was stunned, frozen in place as she stared at her partner, then turned to see the mammal they had been following disappear from view behind a nearby building. She made up her mind, angrily muttering to herself as she ran to her partners side, skidding on her knees to a stop beside him.

"Nick, are you alright? What hurts?"

Her partner was gripping his side where she knew his bruised ribs were located. She gently touched his side, her paw retreating when he yelped in pain again before letting out a low whine. His eyes opened after a second or two, as he tried to push himself up off the ground.

"Sorry, Carrots," he wheezed, looking into her concerned eyes. "He got away because of me...didn't he." Her breathing hitched, and it was all he needed as his ears lowered. "I didn't mean to let him get away."

Judy couldn't speak. Guilt tugged at her heart as she helped her partner to stand up. She had pushed him too hard again. Just that afternoon, Bogo had told them not to push themselves so that they could heal correctly. Now, standing in a soft snowfall in the middle of nowhere in Tundratown, she realized just how her eagerness had again put her partner in harm's way.

"Nick, I'm sorry. You don't need to apologize. I...I was the one who pushed you too hard. It wasn't you at all. I'm sorry..."

He grimaced as he made it to his paws with her help, leaning onto her for support as he caught his breath.

The quiet of the night was disrupted by the starting of an car engine. Judy looked up to see bright headlights flash out of the alley their suspect had fled into and a dark car race out of the alley. It turned towards her, the lights blinding her night vision as it headed straight towards her and Nick.

Judy pulled at her partner, who did his best to make it to the safety of the sidewalk, jumping forward just as the car flew over the spot where they just had been standing, a wave of slush and ice from the tires dousing the two tired mammals in a fresh coat of chilly misery.

Judy was the first to jump up, heading out into the street to see if she could get at least a description of the vehicle. She stomped her foot in frustration.

"Didn't even get a paint colour in this light, let alone a plate number! We didn't get a single thing from this!"

"I did," Nick replied, and Judy looked back at the fox who was completely coated in white. "At least I know what you would have looked like if you were born an arctic bunny. It actually looks good on you, Carrots."

Judy stared at him, shaking her head. "How can you be making a joke at a time like this, Nick? You're hurt, that mammal nearly killed us just now, and we are going to be in so much trouble with Bogo when we get back!"

The fox shook the snow from his body, wincing at the pain in his side and letting out a slight hiss. "I find that it is at times like these, where humor is the only remedy. It's not like it couldn't get any worse?"

The doe glared at him, shaking her paw. "No. Don't you dare tempt fate like that, Nick," Judy warned as she approached him. Nick just smiled.

"You're right," he said, smirking as he used a nearby trash can to pull himself up to his full height. He wiped at his cheek, thankful the bleeding had finally stopped. "We could be in a blizzard right now."

The two made the slow, trudging walk back to the impound lot, following their own tracks back as the snow flurry had developed into a stronger storm. It's irony not lost after Nick's last comment, though Judy decided not to kick a fox when he's down and refrained from reminding him about it. The larger and more frequent flakes were obscuring Judy's vision even further, making her nearly blind in the darkness. Nick was faring a little better, only able to see due to the small amounts of light from the infrequent streetlamps that made it through the thickening snowfall.

Judy clutched Nick's side, walking silently as she thought about what had just happened. The suspect, if he even was one though after he ran she was sure of it, had gotten away. Then nearly ran them over, and Nick even reinjured himself due to her wanting to capture the perp instead of thinking about her partner.

She looked up at him, watching his movements and eyes as he focused ahead of them, making sure they were on the right path. Several times snowflakes landed on his snout, causing him to snort and shake himself free of the sleet. The only other movements she saw were his slow and dogged steps forward, and a slight wince every now and then.

I pushed him too hard...she thought as she wrapped her arm more tightly around his side as he nearly stumbled on a patch of ice. He balanced quickly, sparing a glance at her and a smile.

"Well, we can't get them everytime, Carrots," he finally said, watching her ears droop.. "But we will get him next time."

She was about to reply as her ears suddenly picked up.

"Nick, I think I hear sirens."

The fox squinted into the darkness, focusing his ears ahead. "I trust you, Fluff, but I can't hear a thing. Where are they coming from?"

Her ears rotated around slowly, before she focused in one direction. Even in the darkness, Nick could see her eyes widening as the light from a nearby street lamp reflected off of them in the dark.

"They're coming from the impound lot!"

Nick's eyes widened as the two quickened their gate to as fast as Nick felt he could go. Judy attempted to caution him to slow down, but the fox only waved off her concern, gritting his teeth as he went charging ahead. As they closed the distance to the lot, Nick noticed the sky growing lighter, with hints of orange and red tints added to the white fluorescent hue of the street lamps.

The sirens were much louder now, and Nick could finally make out what they were.

"Carrots, that's the fire department."

After another few minutes they rounded the last building on the way to the lot, the light growing more intense as well as the sound of something roaring and popping into the night. A loud boom shook the ground as they turned the corner, they finally saw it.

Flames were licking up into the sky from the impound lot and even from this distance, they could see multiple vehicles in flames. They watched in horrid fascination as they heard another boom and saw yet another vehicle explode into flames.

They both looked at each other in dread, thinking the same though.

"The van!"

They rushed to the entrance of the lot which was now flooded with fire trucks and police vehicles. Several of the officers noticed them approaching, hurrying towards them. Nick recognized Officer McHorn instantly as the rhino jogged to them.

"Hopps, Wilde! Where have you been? When we arrived we saw your cruiser and the fire but couldn't find you..." He stopped in front of them, noticing Nick leaning on his smaller partner and the dried blood above his eye. "What happened to you, Wilde?"

"Long story." Nick waved his paw in front of him. "But you should see the other guy."

"What's going on in there?" Judy asked quickly, ignoring Nick's attempt at humor. Officer McHorn quickly stood up.

"From what the fire department is telling me, a van inside there exploded and caught several other vehicles on fire."

A pit opened up in both Nick and Judy's stomachs. They turned and made their way past the fire trucks, dodging underneath the vehicles when the firefighters tried to prevent them from going any further. They rushed ahead to where the lead firefighters were battling the flames.

They had to see for themselves.

"Oh no…"

Judy slumped to her knees and Nick could barely stand himself as they watched the inferno before them. For the second time in her short police career, Judy Hopps was watching as the main lead and piece of evidence in her case was up in flames. All that was left of the van was a charred husk of blackened, twisted metal and flames.

Nick gently placed a paw on her shoulder as tears sprang to the corners of her eyes.

"It's all gone...We've lost everything."


	17. Heat of the Moment

 

"Ah, that stings!"

"Quite moving, you're only making this harder on yourself."

Nick yelped again in pain as a paramedic applied antiseptic to the cut above his eye. The deer was growing quickly annoyed, as with each flinch from the fox, the cut on his head would reopen, requiring more even more cleaning.

Meanwhile, his constant yelping and cringing was worrying his partner.

"You ok?"

"I'm fine, Carrots." Nick replied, waving off his partner's concern. "It just stings a little."

"No, I mean are you  _feeling_ ok? You're not looking too good, Nick."

Nick smirked, "What do you mean, Carrots? I  _always_  look good. Besides, I thought scars made a mammal look more dashing." He gave her a wink as Judy groaned in frustration, placing her head in her paws.

"I'd rather you had less scars though, Nick. It means neither of us are doing our jobs right if we're getting too many of them."

The deer shook her head before dabbing more of the antiseptic to his brow. Nick couldn't suppress another hiss of pain as his tail suddenly shot straight out behind him. Judy instinctively put her paw out over his, and he responded by gripping it tightly in his own as the deer applied the medicine.

Judy shook her head, but as her gaze returned to the scar above Nick's eye, her mind wandered back to the events of…had it really been less than an hour since it had all gone to hell?

It was supposed to have been an easy task. Simply pick up the van, tow it to the lab, then go home. Piece of cake, over and done with inside an hour.

Yet they had failed in a spectacular fashion.

The van, and everything surrounding it, was a total loss. The fire crews had tried to contain the blaze to a few vehicles, but they were tightly packed into the lot to save on space, parked end to end and side to side with only enough room to enter the driver's side door. By the time help had arrived, nearly a dozen of them were already in flames. One of the firefighters mentioned that a fire could only spread that fast if an accelerant was used, which only confirmed to Nick and Judy that someone had specifically targeted the van for destruction.

Eventually, the flames and heat had pushed them away from the burning husk of the van completely, forcing the overwhelmed fire department to abandon that whole section of the lot. They'd instead sprayed the edges of the fire to reduce the heat while desperately moving away the cars that hadn't yet ignited, starving the fire of additional fuel. It was clear to Judy that the culprit had wanted to disguise the destruction of the van by burning all the vehicles they could. At least her and Nick's arrival had impeded that plan, otherwise the whole lot might have gone up, leaving no one the wiser about the arsonist's true target.

Judy and Nick were now safely out of the lot, watching the inferno from the back of an ambulance parked across the street. Nearly all the snow piled up around the parked vehicles had melted from the heat still rolling off the flames, turning the streets into rivers of slushy mud flowing beneath their paws.

 _What did we do wrong?_ Judy thought. They had done everything by the book, or so she had thought. Sure, they hadn't needed to investigate the van tonight, but how were they supposed to know that Nick would get attacked? Or that they would get pulled into a hot pursuit… _literally_.

She laid her head in her free paw, the other still in Nick's grasp, while they sat on the bumper of the ambulance as the paramedic began stitching Nick's cut closed.

His latest injuries were because of  _her_  impetuousness. She knew she shouldn't have pursued the intruder when her partner was already injured, especially after they had been warned by Bogo  _several times_  not to push themselves too hard. But, what did she do? Led them both on an icy chase until Nick got hurt because she wasn't watching out for her partner...

They had been so close, but in the end, they might as well be back to square one. She'd slipped up bad, and this time the debt had been paid for physically by her partner.

"I'm sorry, Nick."

His head turned, aggravating the deer as it popped the new stitch she was tying loose.

"Stop moving, Officer," the deer commanded, before pulling his head back to face her. The fox complied, only shifting his eyes to focus on his partner. Nick could see the pain in Judy's eyes as she stared sadly down at the ground, her feet kicking loosely in the air.

"You have no reason to apologize, Carrots. None of this is your fault."

"But it  _is_ my fault!" she whimpered her amethyst eyes focusing on the fire still burning in the impound lot. She gazed at the flames for a few seconds before turning to stare at the large cut on his forehead.

"That...is  _all_ my fault."

His ears lowered. "I was a bit careless and he got in a lucky hit. That's it. You can't take the blame, Carrots. It's on me, not you."

"I pushed you too hard," her eyes lowered. "If I hadn't been so focused on catching them, instead of the safety of my partner, we would have been able to take him on together. Like partners  _should_. Instead..."

"Instead, you simply did your job, and I just wasn't at the top of my game today," the fox retorted, squeezing her paw back with his own. "We push ourselves, and each other, to do our best. Today just wasn't my best day. You can't take that upon yourself. If anything, I'm to blame for him getting away."

"Stop it, Nick." Judy shot back, sudden anger filling her voice.

"Stop what?" he asked, finally turning to face her as the deer finished his stitches. He squeezed her paw in his own, his emerald eyes staring into her own amethyst ones.

"For trying to take the blame and say it isn't my fault. I was the one who decided to come here and pick up the van when we should have just gone back to the precinct. A van wasn't worth all this. And now...look at you!"

"I would, but there isn't a mirror here, Carrots."

Judy groaned, her ears flopping over her face as she removed her paw from Nick's and brought it up to cradle her face.

"Nick, you know what I mean." She threw her paws in the air before letting them fall into her lap. "I'm the senior partner and have to take responsibility for our actions. I messed up tonight."

"Except I was the one who lost another fight, not you." Nick quipped with a slight smirk.

"What?" Judy peered at Nick quizzically.

"So you messed up, but you'll just start again."

Judy stared at Nick for a moment. "Are you seriously trying to quote Gazelle at a time like this?"

"Um, only if it's helping," Nick replied, with an attempt at a grin. When Judy didn't respond, he raised his eyebrow before wincing slightly as the new stitches pulled. "Is it helping?"

Judy stared at the fox, "How can you possibly say I didn't mess up with everything that happened?" She waved her paw towards the inferno.

"Because you didn't. There was no way you could have predicted  _anything_ that we went through tonight."

"I should have though," she murmured.

It was Nick's turn to glower. "Judy, again, there was no way you could have known that van was going to explode  _or_ that we would run into a lunatic who would try to run us over with a car, or that I'd manage to find the one sheet of ice that I should have managed to avoid. That's just part of being a cop, and you can't keep saying everything's your fault when things go wrong."

Nick glanced over at the burning lot, the flames crackling into the sky, drowning out the lights from the stars above.

"Sometimes...things just won't go our way."

"But it has to!" Judy shot back at him, a sudden hint of tears in the corners of her eyes. Several of the nearby firefighters and officers who had responded to the fire began staring at them. "Mammals have died because of whoever is after us and we have to stop them! If anything else happens to anyone after tonight, it is all because we..I, failed to protect them. I couldn't even protect you..." She nearly sputtered to a stop, as she hiccupped slightly. Nick looked at her calmly as a few of Judy's tears fell, leaving glittering tracks down the fur of her cheeks in the flickering firelight.

"All I cared about tonight was catching the bad guy! It's like, I forgot that my job as a officer is so much more than that! I'm supposed to look after the city, protect it...protect you, my partner, but..."

The tears came freely now as Judy buried her head in her paws; the emotions of the day finally overflowing the dams she had built to contain them.

"I could have lost you tonight," she whispered, bringing her legs up into her chest and burying her head behind her knees as she cried.

Nick knew Judy was a strong bunny, but even the strongest mammals could only take so much. He pulled her close to him, her head gently thumping against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. Her quiet sobs the only sound as he began rocking her slowly, stroking her ears gently as he did.

"Hey now, it's going to be alright, Judy. Everything will be ok."

Nick felt her paws grip his chest tighter, as she shuddered against him. He lowered his head, grazing her head gently with his muzzle. "Just let it out…"

He heard her hiccup, then watched as Judy brushed away a tear with the back of her paw. "I'm sorry...I should be better than this."

"Congratulations on being a normal mammal then, Carrots. And here I was convinced you were Super Bunny, you know valedictorian, savior of Zootopia and whatnot," Nick teased, feeling Judy laugh lightly against his chest. "We don't win every battle, or catch the crook every time. We tried, we did our best. That's all we can do, and no one can hold that against you."

Nick heard his partner's sniffling slow. "How can you be so positive, Nick?"

"I know, weird right? I'm supposed to be the sarcastic pessimist in this partnership to keep us grounded."

Nick was grateful when he heard Judy giggle slightly between hiccups.

"How did I manage to be so lucky to get you as a partner?"

Nick shrugged. "Fate...destiny. A certain elephant selling jumbo pops." He shrugged his shoulders as she gripped his uniform tighter. He gently rubbed her ears, hearing her purr slightly at the contact. "Even with everything that's happened so far, I couldn't imagine wanting to be anywhere other than right here, serving with the best bunny on the force."

"You mean the only bunny?" Judy replied, a hint of teasing in her voice.

"Even if  _only_  bunnies could serve in the ZPD, you'd still be the best, Judy."

The fox felt Judy stir beneath his paws. Looking down, he found her staring back at him, dark tear lines staining her fur, yet a smile forming on her lips.

Judy stared into Nick's eyes as she wiped a paw at her cheeks. She was sure she didn't deserve this wonderful fox. Judy could only stare into his emerald eyes, which shone with such kindness and warmth; she didn't know how he could do it after what had happened to him. What Judy still thought  _she'd_  let happen to him.

"How can you put up with me day after day, Nick?"

He smirked. Oh how she was beginning to love that smirk.

"Emotional Bunnies 101," he replied. "It was added as a required course while at the academy ever since you joined the force." Nick chuckled, reaching a paw to quickly wipe a tear trailing down her cheek. He was about to pull away, when she reached out and grabbed his paw in her own.

Judy laughed, a smile finally forming on her face. "Jerk…"

"You know you love me." His smile had grown and Judy suddenly noticed a sparkle in his eyes.

Later, she would claim it was the sparkle that made her do it.

' _You should kiss him' whispered that traitorous voice that seemed to harass her at the most inopportune moments._

 _What?_  Who thought of kissing at a time like this? When the whole world felt like it was collapsing around her head. The only thing keeping her together was Nick, holding her in his arms, his emerald eyes gazing into hers… and that sparkle…

' _You've been thinking about it for days now. You know you want to. Quickly, before he turns away!'_

Judy didn't consciously choose what happened next. Her body just... acted, seemingly without consulting her mind first. Or maybe it  _only_  consulted the part of her mind where that voice came from.

Wherever it had come from, Nick never saw it coming.

Judy's paw guided itself to Nick's cheek as she connected with his lips in a frenzied rush. The kiss was short, but mind-numbingly powerful for the rabbit. Not that it was a particularly good kiss, but Judy had hardly had any practice. Still, somehow the slight awkwardness of it all was part of what made it so wonderful.

' _Hmm, not a bad first kiss, I suppose. But the important thing is that you get in plenty of practice!'_  spoke her inner voice, while radiating an intense feeling of smug satisfaction.

Just as rapidly as the kiss began, Judy's mind suddenly slammed into gear and she pulled away with a startled gasp, looking up into her partner's eyes, scarcely believing what had just happened.

"Oh sweet cheese and crackers!" Her cheeks turned a bright scarlet as she pulled her ears over her head. "I'm so sorry, Nick. I don't know what came over me...I, I…"

Judy turned away, planning to hop off the back of the ambulance and make a run for it. Where? She hadn't a clue. They lived at the safehouse together, so that wasn't an option. Maybe she could ask Bogo to transfer her to Bunny Burrow? She looked out into the darkened night, a fire now burning inside her chest.

Judy was bunching her legs in preparation to run when a paw caught her arm and spun her around. She closed her eyes, not wanting to face her friend.

_After what I just did, I'm not sure that label applies anymore..._

" _Carrots_."

Judy halted at the sound of her name, a name that only Nick called her. Nick, her best friend, her partner. Someone who, no matter what else was happening, she never needed to run away from. She slowly raised her ears and looked at the fox before her.

' _Why did you have to go and do that?_ ' Judy screamed at herself, then even louder at the voice in the back of her mind. Things would never be the same between Nick and her again. Now she just had to wait for him to let her know that their partnership was over because of the kiss.

Judy was watching Nick for any sign of his reaction, but saw none. His eyes were focused on her, yet they lacked any warmth or coldness. He was just...staring. Not a single ear twitch to give away what was going on behind those emerald eyes. Nick's tail hung lifeless behind him, while his arm hung limply at his side.

Judy considered herself an expert (probably the  _only_  expert) on the many faces and expressions of Nicholas P. Wilde. After so much time together, understanding him was like reading her favorite book for the umpteenth time and knowing what exactly would happen next.

Suddenly, Nick had become a textbook in a foreign language she couldn't decipher.

Judy was frozen in place. She felt an icy weight in the pit of her stomach, while her cheeks and ears had become raging infernos. The doe needed Nick to say something...anything, so she could figure out what to do next. Even him saying their friendship was over would be better than this awful silence that had settled upon them in a dark back street of Tundratown, leaving her stuck in horrible limbo.

Again she looked over him, trying to find any hint of his emotions, but his walls were up. His ears weren't up or down, no smile or smirk to betray his innermost thoughts. His shoulders were slouched...

She paused in her examination.

... _his shoulder_.

Judy caught something glistening in the light of the ambulance pooling around them and her nose twitched as she focused on the single, short silhouette against the fabric of his uniform.

"What's that?"

Nick finally reacted as his ears perked up in confusion, alleviating Judy's fears that her actions had turned him to stone. "What's what?"

"On your shoulder…" The rabbit reached to a pouch on her belt and pulled out a small plastic bag and tweezers. She leaned closer to him, too focused on her objective to notice how he tensed up as she neared him. As she reached up to the object, she paused, the closeness between them suddenly causing her to back away and to nervously look down.

"Sorry, I uh, is it alright if I…" she mumbled nearly incoherently as she pointed towards the object on his shirt. Why was she acting like this? She was just trying to grab what could be evidence on his uniform. It wasn't like she was going to do anything else to the fox... although after what had happened moments before, maybe trusting herself to stay professional when being this close to Nick wasn't the best plan.

_Sweet cheese and crackers, what a mess I've turned into..._

Nick watched her with amused curiosity as she pulled away from him, suddenly smiling.

"I give you permission to grab whatever it is on my shoulder, Carrots," he chuckled, though she could tell by his voice he was nervous.

Was he worried that she might go crazy and try to kiss him again?

' _Or is he worried that you **won't**  kiss him again?'_

' _Be quiet, you...crazy voice!_ ' she mentally shouted, still unsure exactly  _why_ she was yelling at herself _._ She shook off that thought, trying to focus on the task at hand, while smiling reassuringly at Nick, but only managed a flaccid grin that looked more pathetic than happy. Nick, bless him, chose not to notice and tilted his head at the tweezers she was still holding.

"Whatcha find, Carrots?"

The comment broke her from her nervous revery. "Oh, um...you said the suspect clipped you as they jumped over you, right?" Judy finally summed up the courage and clipped the item in question from his shirt, quickly pulling back from her partner as if her touch could have burned him.

He didn't react negatively, which made her somewhat grateful.

Nick smiled as Judy held up a single strand of hair, letting the light from inside the ambulance wash over it.

"Well, look at that..." Nick exclaimed as he eyed the short length of hair. "Looks like we got what we came here after all, despite all that happened."

Out of pure habit, Judy smiled at Nick, then reached out to slug her partner's shoulder in happiness at the find, but halted halfway, her fist dangling in the air. Her ears fell and she quickly pulled her paw back, holding it against her chest. Nick's ears fell flat and he frowned slightly and seemed...sad? Angry? Happy?

Judy couldn't tell anymore.

Her thoughts went back to the kiss.

After looking at him again, she finally went with upset. There couldn't be any other emotion he could be feeling, right?

"Nick...um, I…" her voice faltered, then failed as Nick's brows scrunched together. Several more uncomfortable seconds passed before either moved or said anything. This time, it was Nick who opened his mouth to speak.

"Judy…"

A booming voice interrupted him.

"Where are Officers Hopps and Wilde!"

The two froze at the bellicose shout and turned in the direction it came from, only to see the shadow of an imposing figure flashing between patrol cars and fire trucks.

Suddenly, from around the corner of one of the trucks, the familiar figure of Chief Bogo appeared. He stormed towards them, the blue and red lights of the patrol cars, illuminating his face in brief flashes, yet from one of those fleeting moments, Nick was able to catch a glimpse of the water buffalos' eyes.

Furious would be an understatement.

Nick unthinkingly and automatically grasped for Judy's paw as they both slid down from the bumper of the ambulance. She gripped it tightly, but then just as suddenly released it awkwardly, taking a quick step away from Nick with a look of trepidation, like her just touching him might not be welcome. Before Nick could reply to the sudden distance his partner was giving him, as well as the shock and pain in her eyes, Bogo arrived in front of them.

Bogo didn't move and didn't speak.

He simply stared.

That piercing glare he seemed to have mastered, one that even silenced Nick's wit on the bravest of the fox's days.

Nearly a minute passed as the water buffalo glared at his two officers, switching his gaze between them. Judy thought she saw a hint of concern on his face when he looked at Nick, catching the buffalo glancing at the fresh cut above his brow, but it quickly passed. Finally, the cape buffalo spoke.

"I'll see the two of you in my office within an hour. Do not make me wait."

It was all he said.

He glared at them one final time before he turned and stomped off. The two of them looked at each other and gulped.

Nick couldn't even guess at what Judy was thinking as they drove in silence to Precinct 1. It was the most uncomfortable car ride he had ever experienced, including the one where he and Judy had been taken to see Mr Big during the nighthowler case. His partner was just staring ahead at the road, her face expressionless as she drove. Nick was thankful there was no traffic at this hour, as it made the drive pass quickly. His mind was reeling over what must be going through his partners head.

Heck, he wasn't even sure what was going through his own, and it made the silence between them that much more unbearable. Nick wanted to break the silence, but the uncertainty of his own thoughts and how exhausted he was seemed to rob him of the words. How ironic, that normally nothing could prevent his silver tongue from working, but in what might be his moment of greatest need, he had nothing to say.

So he did the only thing his mind and body wanted to do...he fell asleep.

Judy finally glanced at the figure of her partner, finding his head against his chest and soft snores coming from his muzzle.

At least there was finally a good reason for the silence between them.

She wanted to reach out and hold his paw in her own, just to know he was there, but couldn't bring herself to do it. They had done so dozens of times in the past with no issue. They were simply Judy and Nick, two officers who were best friends and didn't mind a little closeness and holding paws.

Right?

As she drove, she continued to sneak glances at her partner whenever she could, watching him as he slept at red lights or sneaking quick glances when she checked her mirrors. All the feelings from their kiss in the ambulance were welling up inside of her, and it was driving her crazy. Why had she done what she did? Why had she kissed him?

What did it mean to him, and how could she find out when she didn't even know what it meant to  _her_?

Her analytical mind was going in frantic circles, trying to decipher her actions. The rational side of her mind was trying to tell her that it was just another way they had 'touched' while at work.

_That's it Hopps, just another way you too are such good friends. Friends that poke and nudge each other. Just work partners that occasionally brush against each other at work while grabbing coffee. Just best friends that go to the movies together, have dinner together, hold paws…and kiss._

_That's what partners do...right?_

The tiny voice in the back of her mind took this opportunity to spell out what it had been hinting at for the past few weeks.

_No, that's what couples do, sweetheart._

Judy's eyes widened and her gaze momentarily shot to the fox sleeping soundly next to her. The voice inside her head was laughing at her naivety.

" _Oh sweet cheese and crackers…"_

She shook her head as she drove into the station's parking lot, trying to push all thoughts out of her mind as she slid the car into their normal parking place. She killed the engine and went to shake her partner awake, but stopped.

It was like a repeat of just a few hours earlier; the moment they had nearly kissed as she had tried to wake him on the way back from Furzer. And with the voice from the back of her mind still cackling at her, she couldn't shake him awake as she normally did.

She didn't know if she could trust herself not to kiss him again.

The kiss. That kiss had changed _everything_ , whether she wanted it to or not.

If she shook him awake, she would be close to him. Would he be angry that she was so close? Was he experiencing the same inner turmoil she was? She had no clue how he was feeling about her, or trying not to feel.

Oh, when had the world become so confusing...

Judy let her paw fall back to her side, settling on clearing her throat loudly to wake the fox. Nick woke slowly, rubbing his eyes as he blinked heavily.

"We're here," Judy stated hesitantly, her eyes flicking around the inside of the cruiser, focusing on anything except her partner. Unwilling to endure another awkward silence, she jumped out of the car, redness deepening beneath her fur before Nick could even formulate a reply.

In her rush to escape, she had missed him reaching his paw out to her. As well as the look of sadness in his eyes as her door closed behind her. After a few moments his paw dropped and he reached for his own door handle, shaking his head and muttering single sentence.

"You dumb, lovable little bunny."

The trip to Bogo's office was more awkward than the car drive. Judy had waited for Nick at the door as usual, but that was the only part of their routine they kept. Usually the pair walked so close to each other that their paws sometimes brushed, much to their amusement before today, while bantering back and forth. Now, as they passed by Clawhauser's desk, she didn't know if her partner would be offended if she walked next to him, or far away from him, and kept quiet the entire walk to Bogo's office. While deep in thought, she didn't notice how close Nick had gotten to her, and felt his paw brush against her own.

She jumped at the touch and Judy ended up walking ahead of Nick after that.

Before she knew, they were standing outside Bogo's door. Light permeated the frosted window and shone from below the door, yet neither mammal could bring themselves to knock.

Finally, with a resigned sigh that clearly communicated ' _let's get this over with'_ , Judy reached her paw up and slowly knocked three times.

"Come in."

The voice was final and curt, demanding immediate compliance.

They opened the door and accepted their fate as they walked inside.

Bogo was busy at his desk, barely looking at them as they entered and crawled atop the large seat opposite him. Nick offered his paw as he was the first one up, a tradition they had shared for the past several months. This time she hesitated.

Why? She didn't know. He was reaching out a paw to help her up.  _Does this mean he isn't mad at me?_

_Or is he still mad but still being kind?_

Judy nearly growled in frustration at her sudden inability to think straight around the fox.

She ended up taking his paw, but only as long as she needed to get up on top of the seat. She didn't want to risk somehow hurting Nick by holding paws with any longer than needed.

Several minutes passed as Bogo shuffled papers on his desk and placed several folders on top of them.

"I expect you know why you are here," the Chief finally muttered, flicking his eyes down at them as he removed his reading glasses.

Judy spoke up hesitantly. "Sir, it was my idea to go to the impound lot to pick up the van. It's my..."

Bogo's raised hoof silenced her instantly. " _That..._ isn't why you two are here."

Judy was stunned into silence. Nick glanced at her, then turned to face Bogo. "Then, why are we here, sir? If it isn't because of what happened today..."

"It  _is_ about what happened today, Officer Wilde," Bogo interrupted. "But it isn't what happened at the lot that concerns me. It's the pattern of behavior that you two have shown since I allowed you on this case." He stopped, his eyes narrowing slightly, "And for quite some time before."

"Sir," Judy began, confusion clearly written upon her face, "I'm...not sure I understand."

"What I'm saying, Officer Hopps, is that you two have shown a proclivity towards rash behavior that has continually put both of you into harm's way without considering the consequences first."

"Sir…?" Judy was a bit stunned by what the Chief had said. "We're officers though, we're supposed to dive into these kinds of situations. It's our job."

Bogo snorted. "It is your job, when you are able to perform the functions of the job. Now tell me, Officer Hopps, did you catch the arsonist at the impound lot?"

Judy gulped, "Sir, we were..."

" _Yes_ , or  _no_ , Hopps." Bogo's voice was final, and his glare heavy.

The rabbit was speechless for a moment, fumbling for words. She glanced at Nick, hoping to feel some relief from him. Maybe a smirk, smile or some sort of reassurance. Instead, he was fighting off a yawn, barely able to keep his eyes focused on the Chief and nearly completely oblivious to her.

She finally sighed.

"No, sir. We did not."

"And why was that, Officer Wilde?" Bogo turned to face Nick, who's eyes were nearly shut. Bogo slammed his hoof on the table, startling the fox awake.

"I lost my balance on some ice and was unable to continue the pursuit, sir." Nick replied, barely making the sentence out before another yawn escaped his lips.

Bogo stared at him. "And why did you slip on the ice, may I ask?"

"I'm a slick guy in general?" Nick joked, though his comment only seemed to darken Bogo's mood further, as the cape buffalo's eyes narrowed dangerously. Judy winced. Even Nick would have known better than to crack a joke under these circumstances, if he wasn't so clearly dead on his paws.

"Did you slipping have anything to do with your previous injuries, Wilde?"

It was Nick's turn to be silent as his mouth shut and ears fell. Bogo sighed.

" _That_  is the real reason the two of you are here. You don't know when to stop pushing yourself and rest. I know you want to solve this case and put the cretin performing these crimes behind bars,  _but_ , you can't do that at the expense of yourselves."

Judy and Nick remained silent as Bogo focused intently on them, making sure he had their attention. "Do not repeat this to anyone else, but, in front of me, I see two of my best officers, but also two of the most inexperienced. I see two mammals who want to prove themselves, not only to the world, but also to themselves, so they push beyond what others think they are capable of, and what is safe for them to do. I see two officers that need to learn knowing their limits and when to stop are essential to their future careers in law enforcement."

Bogo reached for two files on his desk and threw them in front of the other mammals. "Do you know what these files are?"

"No sir," Nick replied, tentatively glancing over his name on top of the manilla envelope as Judy slowly reached for one of the files, noticing it had her name on it. She opened it, hesitating slightly as Nick reached for the other one. Her breathing hitched as she read the title of the front page.

_Recommendation: Fast-track Detective Training..._

Nick's eyes caught hers as the fox flipped through the other pages in the folder, scanning the pages therein. It read like a biography of his police career, starting from his time at the academy, then skipping ahead, including a short summary of each and every case he and Judy had worked; starting with the Nighthowler case and ending with the Wolverton brothers they had caught the morning all of this started.

Judy was busily scanning her file as well, her jaw hanging open as she reached the few pages at the end giving a brief summation of what Bogo thought of her performance so far.

Her eyes flickered from the folder to Bogo, then back to the folder. "Sir, are we being considered for a promotion?"

The buffalo stared at her as held his hooves together on the table."That would depend, Hopps. Do you consider yourself detective material with how you are feeling and your current state of health?"

Her enthusiasm faltered as she looked at the Chief, her mind falling upon her recent failures at the impound lot. She shut the folder and placed it in her lap as her ears fell. She wanted to reach her paw out to Nick for support, but quickly shelved the idea. He was probably feeling uncomfortable enough just sitting next to her after what she had done.

"I..." she glanced at Nick who was looking at her and she could  _tell_  he felt just as uneasy at the question.

"You saw what I wrote about you two in there, and I think that the both of you would make some of the best detectives this department has ever seen. However, your careers would also be some of the shortest."

Judy's jaw dropped and the last of her resolve was crushed by Bogo's statement. "What are you saying, sir?"

Bogo frowned, sighing heavily. "Let me put it this way, Hopps. Remember the incident in the hospital the day after you woke up from your surgery?"

Of course Judy remembered, how could she forget?

It had occurred just after they had been given the go ahead to take on the case, though their computers hadn't arrived, and wouldn't for another few days.

She had grown frustrated after just a  _single_  day of waiting, and had formulated probably the worst plan she had ever thought of. Even Nick had told her afterwards it was probably the stupidest thing that a dumb bunny had ever conceived.

After they had been given their medicine for the night, and the day staff had gone home, only one nurse was left on the floor. Judy had snuck out of their room and into another, pressing the nurse alert button on the gurney of a large, deaf elephant, before sneaking back out and hiding from the nurse as the antelope had walked past. Once the nurse was distracted, she had tried to log into her ZPD account on the nurse's workstation (as all municipal buildings were linked through the same citywide network), in order to access the case files faster.

Of course she had been caught when the nurse came back after only a few minutes, and she could still remember the chewing out she had gotten from her partner that night, as well as Bogo the next morning.

"Yes sir, I remember." Judy visibly deflated as her shoulders slumped.

"Why did you sneak out of your room when you were supposed to be recovering from a major surgery and several other injuries?"

"I..." she stuttered, before sighing heavily. Her mind knew what she needed to say to the Chief, but she suddenly realized the point he was trying to make. She looked over at her partner, whose eyes were cautiously watching her, though still somewhat unreadable.

It was then she realized just how much she relied upon him for support in moments like these which made the new found distance between them that much more unbearable.

She breathed in deeply before speaking again, suddenly much more remorseful than even a moment before..

"I was putting the case ahead of the orders I had been given."

Bogo simply grunted at the answer before switching his gaze towards the fox sharing the rabbit's seat.

"Officer Wilde, how long were you told you would have to be on desk duty and stay away from excess physical exertion while you healed?"

The fox mumbled something inaudibly. Judy was only able to make out a few syllables of his answer, even with her impressive hearing his answer was so quiet. He was barely awake, and seemed to be having a hard time just keeping his eyes open.

"If you would speak louder, Wilde." It was more of a demand than a question Bogo posed to the vulpine.

"Four weeks..."

"And how many weeks has it been since that order was given?"

"How long has it felt, or the actual amount of days?" the fox replied, trying to grin though it faltered as soon as he saw his boss's glare.

Apparently it was the  _exact_  wrong thing to say.

Bogo slammed his hoof onto the desk, startling both of the mammals before him. "It has only been two weeks, and yet you and Officer Hopps here have, not once, but  _twice_  ignored that direct order, just today alone!" He scowled at them, simply daring them to speak.

"The job of being an officer is already hard enough as is, even without disregarding the orders from your superiors  _and_  physicians. Do you think that the job of a detective would be any easier?"

"Sir," Judy interrupted, her voice pleading. "It's our jobs to push ourselves, and we get results. Just look how far we've gotten already on this case!"

Bogo's eyes narrowed. "You may be getting results,  _Hopps_ , but at what cost? You're working a case that is already far too close to you and Wilde for my personal and professional comfort. I already have some crazy lunatic who is trying to kill the two of you, I don't need you to do that for them by working yourselves to death first!"

"Sir," Nick chimed in. "We can handle this…" his statement was interrupted by a loud yawn, his tongue even lolling out of his mouth momentarily before his jaws snapped shut again.

Bogo snorted at the display.

"I've seen how you two have handled this so far, Wilde." Bogo stared at the fresh stitches across the fox's brow. "I took the liberty to talk with Dr Lutrinae just before you two arrived." Bogo picked up his glasses, putting them on as he grabbed a piece of paper from the nearby printer. "From what he has heard of your actions today, he is recommending that I send both of you back to the hospital immediately."

"But sir!" Judy yelled, attempting to jump to her feet, and finding the task far more difficult than she was used to. Nick wasn't the only one who was running on fumes. She wobbled slightly before gaining her balance. "We can do this, you just have to trust us when we say that we're fit for work!"

"I  _have_ been trusting you!" Bogo shouted, slamming his hoof onto the desk again. It wasn't his normal angry shout, but rather one filled with raw emotion. "I trusted that you wouldn't disregard my orders. I trusted that you wouldn't put yourselves into harm's way unnecessarily, that you would rely on others when you  _shouldn't_  do it by yourselves!" His voice raised to a dangerous level.

"This isn't about trust anymore, it's about what you are currently capable of!"

Judy's bewilderment turned to anger in a flash, all her memories of her family and others telling her what she could and could not do welling up inside her.

" _Sir,_ " she began with a hint of agitation in her voice. "We procured new evidence today from the impound lot and had the arsonist dead to rights! I think we have shown we are more than  _capable_  of solving this case."

Bogo seemed to stiffen at the sudden anger in her voice, but his main reaction was what surprised her. He calmly stared at her and for a moment and she could see something she hadn't expected in his eyes.

Concern.

"You  _almost_  had him tonight, Hopps. If you and Wilde had been on the top of your game, or even at eighty percent, they would currently be behind bars."

Judy's anger evaporated faster than a snowflake in Sahara Square.

Bog was right, and the thought filled her with an agonizing despair. She turned to Nick, but the fox was again asleep in the chair. She didn't know what he felt about her anymore, but she needed his support now more than anything.

She reached out and grabbed his paw.

His eyes fluttered open, and the fox glanced at her paw.

Gratitude filled her heart when he didn't let go, but a hint of sadness when he didn't squeeze back like he normally did.

Her ears fell.

Bogo didn't seem to notice the slight interaction between the two, or if he did, he simply didn't care enough to bring it up.

"Hopps, you and Wilde have been pushing yourselves too hard, and not just on this case, but in general. It is beginning to show in your work, you know that and I know that. I've been considering you two for for the Detective Candidacy program for a few months now, but I've been holding off on submitting them. Do you know why? Because I was concerned that you and Wilde didn't have the proper mindset for long-term careers in the ZPD, especially if exposed to more dangerous or violent crime.

Bogo hung his head and for a moment looked genuinely sad as he suddenly glanced at a picture on the wall. Judy followed his gaze and saw what he was looking at. It was a picture of a much younger Bogo, standing in a nice suit next to a tiger which was similarly dressed. A hint of a smile played on Bogo's lips in the picture and both mammals seemed quite relaxed. She turned her attention back to her boss, noticing the emotions previously on display were now gone, though he kept staring at the photo.

"The job of an police officer is dangerous and stressful. A detective encounters generally less physical danger than a beat cop, but the psychological stress is far more intense and pervasive. You need to be at your best, physically and mentally, so you can do your job. But more importantly, you must know when you've reached your limits and need to take a break  _from_  the job." Bogo paused, finally tearing away his gaze from the picture on the wall as he made his way back to his seat with a heavy sigh. "Neither of you know when to quit. It is an admirable quality, however, a dangerous one."

"The reason I haven't signed and submitted these papers is because, if I did, there is no doubt in my mind I'd be watching the both of you burn out and fail your psych evals within the next five years. I will not put officers up for promotion, only to see them unable to fulfill their duties just when they should be hitting their stride and wasting the taxpayer's money. More importantly," Bogo's eyes looked directly into Judy's, weighted with compassion, "I won't be party to destroying someone like that. I don't need that guilt on my conscience."

Judy felt Nick stir next to her, and noticed his head hanging low, not due to his tiredness, but to an emotion she had seen once before on his face in another office like this one. A much colder one with a much smaller  _boss_  in it. She recognized the look immediately.

It was shame.

Bogo seemed to notice as well and sighed. "Both of you are amazing officers when you are at the top of your game, but you are slipping due to your desire to catch this suspect and thus your actions are overcoming reason. I need you at the top of your game, but are you there currently?"

"No, sir," both Judy and Nick exclaimed at once.

"Look, I know that you want to solve this case. I want to as well, but not at your own expense. I was hoping you would take Dr Lutrinae's advice and take it easy, but I should have realized that isn't in either of your nature."

Judy's ears lowered as she slowly sat back down in her seat.

"You both have become too involved with this case, to the detriment of your health. Add in the fact that the mammal responsible for all of this has specifically seemed to target you, Hopps, I'm left with no other option. I'm going to take both of you off this case for a while and order you to rest as it appears you both need it. Especially Wilde, here."

Judy was stunned by the announcement, though she had known it was coming. The Chief had been building up to this for a while now. Bogo pointed towards the fox, whose muzzle was resting on his chest while he was snoring slightly, somehow again fast asleep. She hadn't even noticed when he had fallen asleep again, as his paw still loosely gripped her own.

"I'm giving the two of you a week of paid administrative leave to recover. Note,  _recover_  means no working! When you come back, I'll have both Ursula and Dr Lutrinae evaluate you to see if you are back to one hundred percent." Bogo focused on Judy, his eyes becoming somewhat tender, which was an unheard of thing for the rabbit to see from her boss.

"Now, Judy," he started, though she was already so stunned by the tenderness in his voice that she barely noticed him using her first name. "I want you to realize, I am only doing this for your own good. I am genuinely concerned for you since we now know they are targeting  _you_  specifically. Detectives Delgato and Fangmeyer will take over the case in your absence, and I don't want you going anywhere. Stay in the safe house, and I'll make sure to have at least two officers guarding it. This station wouldn't be the same if we lost you, or Nick, for the matter. Especially if it could have been prevented by the both of you simply resting until you were recovered. And I need you both, but you especially, to show me that you can be good cops, and still take care of yourselves. I want to sign these," he gestured to the two files now resting on his desk, "but not until you  _both_  show me that I'm not setting you up for failure. When you're at one hundred percent, I expect to see that in your work, and I do. But when you are not, I need to see that you will take the time to recover, instead of riding to and past the breaking point."

"You both show me that I can trust you to take care of yourselves, and I'll be happy to submit these. Now," and just as suddenly as it had appeared, the empathy left Bogo's eyes as they narrowed and his voice returned to its usual gruff tone, "wake up that damned fox and get out of my office."

The door to Bogo's office closed behind them with a click, leaving Nick and Judy alone in the hallway. They both looked at each other, then sighed before walking away. As they moved down the stairwell towards the parking garage, they saw Detectives Fangmeyer and Delgato waiting for them. Both looked slightly bleary eyed, and their uniforms were a bit disheveled, so the Chief must have called them right before their recent meeting with the buffalo.

To Judy, it was just another way Chief was sending them a message.

To their credit, neither tiger nor wolf said anything as the fox and rabbit walked past them towards the garage. Walking through the doors to the garage, Delgato led them to the detective's cruiser, opening the door and allowing Nick and Judy to climb slowly in, Nick stumbling as the fox seemed to be running only on fumes at this point. When they were seated, Judy finally felt the last of her energy run dry. Her eyelids drooped and she was asleep in an instant, not realizing her body slipped down the side of the seat until she was resting across Nick's lap.

Judy woke when she felt the surface beneath her stir and something shake her shoulder. She groggily opened her eyes to see a lot of red fur above her and two emerald eyes shining down.

"Hey Carrots, we're uh, home."

She rubbed her eyes as she sat up, realizing the surface she had been laying on was her partner's lap. She jumped and quickly apologized, brushing her ears back while Nick sent her a curious expression.

She was too tired even to blush at the thought of her falling asleep on him like that, even though the same thing had happened during many of the movie nights they had at each other's apartments.

It was different now though, she hadn't kissed him before tonight.

Judy stumbled out of the car, nearly toppling out of it if it weren't for Delgato's steady paws catching her. The rabbit wondered what time it was, but at the same time almost didn't want to know.

"Another officer will be by to guard your apartment in about an hour. Until then, we'll be outside if you need us."

Judy nodded and tried to salute, but barely managed to get her paw to her chest before it dropped again to her side. The tiger chuckled.

"Get some rest, Hopps. In a week I'm sure you'll be more than ready to take on the cretin who's targeting you. Same goes for you, Wilde."

The fox by her side gave what could be generously called a smirk (although well below his usual standards) and gave a sloppy salute before trudging up the steps and into the apartment complex their safe house was located in.

The door to their apartment shut behind them, leaving Nick and Judy in semi-darkness as they trudged towards their respective beds and the promise of sleep there in. Judy glanced at Nick, seeing the exhaustion in his eyes before they both disappeared into their rooms.

Judy slumped onto the bed and was asleep before her head even hit the pillow.

 


	18. Diving In...

 

The door shut with a click, leaving the two smiling mammals hidden in the darkened room.

"Nick, are you  _sure_  we won't be found in here? Bogo did tell us not to come back for a week," Judy asked, sauciness trimming her words.

"Well, with the door being locked, we'd know if old Buffalo Butt came a' knocking," Nick pointed towards the large pane of glass against another wall with a smile. "And if anyone really want a show, they can just watch from in there. I don't mind showing off how much I love my bunny."

Nick smiled as he moved closer to his partner, drawing her against his body while ruffling her long ears with his paw. She purred at the touch, while wrapping her own paws around his waist. She leaned up and placed a light peck underneath his muzzle.

"...Aaaaand, I'm fairly certain that show would be  _fantastic_ , wouldn't it," Nick murred, eliciting a giggle from the rabbit.

"Sounds like  _somebody_ has been looking forward to this for a while, eh Blueberries?"

Nick chuckled at the nickname, "Carrots, I thought that was a special nickname for special occasions."

Judy tilted her head and smiled, "What? This isn't a special occasion?" She reached for his tie and tugged it, lowering Nick's head to her level as she placed a light kiss on his lips. She lingered in front of his face for several seconds, her amethyst eyes reading his emerald ones.

"I think every moment we've shared since we've met has been special, Judy." He leaned forward again and kissed her, lingering much longer against her muzzle as the kiss deepened.

"I'm glad you finally told me what you thought about us, Nick," Judy managed to get out as they separated for air, but only for a moment.

"I'm just glad you finally kissed me," came the reply before their lips met again. Nick picked her up and Judy wrapped her legs around his waist. He gently set her on the table, before climbing up on top of it as well, Judy's powerful bunny legs still wrapped around him. Nick could hear Judy giggle.

"Wrong way, Nick," she laughed, before shoving her knees into his side. Nick nearly yelped as he fell onto his side, then felt himself pushed onto his back as Judy now hovered over him, an innocent smile on her face. "Now you're on the right side. You should know this after a week. Senior partner privilege."

"Sly Bunny," Nick quipped, brushing her cheek with his paw.

Judy leaned down. " _My fox."_

"You know you love me."

Judy looked thoughtful for a moment as she gazed down at him. "Did I know that before last week? No, no I did not." She leaned down until her twitching nose was just just above him, her lips just barely brushing his, teasing him.

Nick whimpered and Judy laughed in response. "But now I do…"

Their lips met again in a frenzy as paws reached for each other. Nick's wrapped around Judy's waist and behind her head, stroking her ears as her paws went directly towards his chest, clutching at his uniform.

In the heat of the moment, they both failed to catch the sound echoing in the room as the door clicked and swung open. A portly cheetah waltzed into the room looking down at a clipboard in one paw, a donut in the other.

"So, I heard that you two were in here, and I just wanted to say hello after your week off. I'm  _so_  excited both of you are back and…"

Clawhauser dropped his donut as his eyes lifted from his clipboard to the scene in front of him. Nick was sprawled on the table, his tie loose around him, with Judy's paws still on his half-unbuttoned shirt and legs straddling his waist.

"O. M. Goodness!"

"I thought you said you locked the door?" Judy asked, though she was smirking slightly.

Nick shrugged his shoulders. "Who cares?" he said, smirking at the cheetah who was ogling the pair on the table, "I don't. Tickets are free to this show."

"I called it! I totally called it!" Clawhauser let loose a massive squeal of delight, usually reserved only for the latest Gazelle video. "I have to tell Bogo I just won the betting pool!"

The cheetah pulled at the radio in his pocket while Nick felt Judy going back to nuzzling his cheek. He was both amused and surprised at her actions, as he thought the appearance of the cheetah and subsequent interruption of their ' _fun'_  would have ruined the mood.

"Bogo! I won! Haha! I totally called it!"

Nick laughed as he went back to watching Judy rubbing her cheek against his own, marking him with her scent. "I guess you think you own me now?"

She nodded into the fur of his cheek. "You're all mine now, Blueberries."

They both heard static from the speaker in the ceiling and looked up to suddenly hear Bogo's voice blaring from the intercom.

"Alert, alert, alert! All officers to Interrogation room #3. Come see the newest couple in the ZPD."

"That's a bit much," Nick stated, a bit annoyed at the sound filling his ears, yet the Chief continued unabated, though his voice seemed to suddenly become much higher pitched.

"Alert, alert, alert!"

He felt Judy stir on top of him. "What's wrong?" she asked, though confusion now filled her face.

"Bogo," Nick winced, as the  _'alert'_ message continued as Officers began flooding into the room. Several got onto their radios and began broadcasting the same message. He turned back to face Judy, who's face was suddenly very stoic, as she began repeating the same message as the rest of the group.

_Alert, alert, alert! Alert, alert, alert! ALERT, ALERT, ALERT!_

Nick sat bolt upright, panting heavily, while finding himself lying on the floor next to his bed, tangled in his sheets. He groaned in frustration as the sound of his alarm clock wailed against his otherwise peaceful room. Pushing himself off the floor and over to the desk, he slammed his paw onto the accursed machine, before rubbing his eyes and slumping back down to the floor on top of the mess of sheets. Not that the blessed silence was the end of his immediate troubles, as his paws moved over the tender wounds on his face, drawing a flinch and hiss from the fox.

Bits and pieces of the previous night slowly crawled back to him.

He'd taken a hoof to the face. Ow.

No wonder he felt so groggy and off his game right now. Not that he was ever really a morning-mammal, but his brain felt mired in mud this morning.  _Of course, my dream is distracting me enough to account for that all on it's own..._ he chuckled, gently exploring the stitches above his eye with a little more care than a moment ago. He winced slightly as his paw traced the half circle wound, but his mind was currently occupied on other thoughts.

That had been a  _really_  intense dream.

The images began flowing back through his mind. This wasn't the first time Judy played a starring role in Nick's dreams. Especially recently, as he started to admit, at least to himself, his feelings for her. None of his previous dreams had ever been so  _vivid_ , though. One image in particular kept coming back to the forefront of his thoughts.

The look Judy had given him as she grasped his tie, that sultry gaze that made his tail wag a little and a shiver go down his spine, even now.

Nick tried to shake the feeling and image from his mind but found that he just couldn't for some reason. Not that he particularly  _wanted_  the image to fade. Or what had come after. That kiss...he still had tingles just from remembering that alone!

It felt so real, he  _really_  wanted it to be real. Sadly, it wasn't and couldn't have been...and no matter how much he wished it otherwise, Judy kissing him was just that, a dream.

As Nick padded across his room and started dressing for the day, more injuries from the previous night made their presence known. The poor fox had bruises on top of his bruises. The constant aches and pains did serve to jump-start his thinking, despite still feeling like he could easily fall back to sleep the moment his head hit a pillow.

Nick glanced at the clock, eyeing the time, 9:30am, with amusement. That was considered sleeping in, according to his usual schedule. Although the six hours or so of sleep he just had was probably more than he'd managed in the past few days combined, given the stressed tossing and turning that had qualified as 'resting' recently. But Nick firmly pushed any thought of 'sleep' away as he concentrated on the vague sense that he was forgetting something from last night. Something important...

He recalled the chase, not that  _Nick_  had done much successful chasing, followed by sitting in the ambulance with Judy. Getting his face stitched up, he wouldn't mind forgetting  _that_ , sleep-walking back to their cruiser, followed by Judy shaking him awake at the station. Waking up several times in Bogo's office, how had he managed to fall asleep while Bogo was chewing them out? Even Nick was a little bit nervous around the buffalo, he just managed to mask it with teasing. Presumably he had missed a lot of stuff that Bogo had told them, but Judy would just fill him in later. It didn't get rid of the nagging feeling that there was something else he was missing.

Maybe Judy  _had_  kissed him and, in his sluggish state, he just didn't remember it happening?

_Of course, that's absolutely it, Nick. Because life is just like some cartoon musical where I can sing a little song and my unrealistic dreams magically come true…_

For being such an  _unrealistic_  dream, it sure felt  _real_  to him, though. It included a lot of details he'd never encountered in his dreams before, even in the most intense, Judy-related ones. Nick's brow wrinkled as he focused on the specifics. The softness of her lips, the warmth of her body cuddled tightly against his own, even through their damp uniforms. The smell of her fur from being so close, a unique scent that screamed  _Judy_  to Nick's mind, even through the unpleasant overtones of singed fur. The way her soft fur felt under his paws, the pale grey tinted slightly blue or red, as if lights were reflecting off it.

_Wait..._

_Did I just suddenly imagine all these new details? I don't think exhaustion and mild head trauma_ normally  _make dreams feel more real…_

_...and why would she smell of singed fur in the precinct? Or have wet uniforms? And the lights weren't changing. That's not right at all._

His eyes suddenly widened in shock as his ears shot straight up. He brought his paw to his lips once again as his mind revealed  _a very different_  kiss.

 _Wait… that wasn't part of the dream._ He leaned back against the small table behind him, his paws grabbing his ears.  _Did she...did we…?_

Nick shot to his feet, nearly falling over as blood rushed from his head. The vulpine leaned onto the nightstand in his room for support until the feeling passed. He panted heavily against the bed-stand, his mind reeling while his body tried to recover from the sudden movement. Nick leaned against the small table for well over a minute, his ribs berating him for suddenly trying to move after laying down all night.

_No...she couldn't have. She never would have done...that._

_Could she?_

The dream suddenly morphed in his mind. No longer was he in the dark interrogation room with a single light shining above him, but the edge of an ambulance, facing out into darkness of a night sky. Judy's seductively sinful gaze changed into closed eyes and an adorably nervous nose twitch. The voracity of the kiss turned into one filled instead with sweetness and trepidation.

The fog in his mind lifted and Nick, at last, remembered.

It  _wasn't_  a dream...

They  _had_  kissed…

And it was  _Judy,_  that had kissed  _him_.

It took another minute for the grin to spread across his face.

His secret crush, Judy Hopps, of her own free will and choice...had kissed him.

Nick felt like he was floating on air. She had finally done what he had been trying to gain the courage to do himself! He had the thoughts of what it would be like to kiss Judy for weeks, and had just barely recognized his feelings for her himself. Sure it wasn't the best of kisses, but still…

They had kissed! Just the thought sent a thrill up Nick's spine. He finally had the confirmation of Judy's feelings he had been waiting for. Nick didn't have to pine after her anymore. He now knew that she  _at least_  liked him enough to kiss him. Maybe she liked him even more than that? The thought made him nigh giddy.

They had kissed, and somehow, that made him the happiest fox in the world.

_Does Judy Hopps like me?_

He could finally, definitely, and quantitatively answer that question.

_Yes, yes she does._

It was a liberating thought. No longer would he have to be careful with his flirting behavior. He could be himself! Free to flirt with the beautiful bunny, free to hold her paw whenever he wanted, free to kiss her then to go on and…

Nick's train of thought suddenly derailed, his celebrations crashing to a standstill as he suddenly realized something.

Judy had kissed him...but he hadn't kissed her back.

_Oh sweet cricket paste...I'm an idiot!_

"No...no...no...I'm such an idiot!" Nick repeated, verbalizing his inner fears while grabbing his ears and pulling. He would have bashed his head against the wall, but feared the thudding would awaken the rabbit just a room away.

Nick let out a low groan. He hadn't done a single thing after the kiss to let Judy know how he felt about it; he had simply sat there, slack jawed and dim eyed while the doe had probably over-thought herself mad at his reaction, or lack thereof. He hadn't returned her kiss at all, just sat there, limp lipped and everything.

 _I mean...who falls asleep after their secret crush kisses them?_  Nick thought, going from grabbing his ears to rubbing his paws against them, flattening them behind his head.

Oh, right...someone who was too stupid to take time off after several serious injuries, was running a severe sleep deficit because he ignored his boss' and doctor's advice, and maybe just had their head rattled by a hooved assailant.

Yeah, because those were completely acceptable excuses for breaking his bunny's heart.  _I'm such a dumb fox!_

None of those excuses warranted his behavior towards her. He rubbed his paws over his eyes and groaned. The one moment... _the one moment_ , he needed to not be a coward, to show his true feelings for once, and he blew it.

The sight of Judy the rest of the night, her actions and how she pulled away whenever they had touched, confirmed to him what her feelings were now.

The temptation to suddenly race into Judy's room, grab the rabbit, lift her up, spin her about and lather her in kisses entered his mind. She was bound to be up by now, as she always rose earlier than him in the mornings. It had become their ritual and Nick, nor Judy, were one's to break habits. Each day of their lives had become a ritual of monotony, of a sameness that Nick had thought Judy was enjoying.

He surely didn't deserve Judy after how he treated her last night, but maybe, she could forgive him if he begged for it or did something uniquely 'Nick' to announce his feelings?

His rational side began taking over after just a few steps and before he reached the door. As tempting as it was to find Judy and lather her in kisses, it wasn't the way he should declare his love towards her.

Though the thought made him pause, why hadn't he declared his love to her last night, or at least responded to the kiss? It couldn't have all been because he was tired. Heck, some of the best cons he ever pulled were down on a severe lack of sleep, so why hadn't he done anything? The excuses from before entered his mind, but they were all simple added weight that had crushed his reaction, not the main culprit.

The question answered itself nearly as fast as Nick thought it.

Fear of committing to something without feeling in control, fear of the unknown a relationship could bring, fear of what could happen to their partnership at work, and worst of all, the fear of the reprisals that Judy could face if others knew she was dating a fox.

Judy, in many ways, was still as bright eyed and bushy tailed as the day she arrived in Zootopia. Though part of her idealism had been dulled in her first few months, which Nick was chagrined to say he had a large part causing, much of that idealism had returned as the city recovered from the Bellwether scandal, then more so after his graduation from the academy.

She still believed, in her heart, that anyone can be anything, and that as long as a mammal tried their best, they could achieve their dreams. She didn't yet know that some dreams made certain mammals feel threatened, and they would do their absolute best to tear down anybody who would change the world into something they didn't approve of.

Anyone  _could_ be anything, but Zootopia was still working on how anyone can  _love_  anyone.

Still, there was that one quote Judy liked to use often?  _The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself?_

He rubbed his paws over his eyes, sitting back down onto his bed. He couldn't let his fear of the consequences of them loving each other control him. Society could scorn them, but he didn't care.

He needed to act.

The fox began going over in his mind different ways he could apologize to Judy for abusing her emotions like he had. He knew the kiss she had given him had meant something to her. She had mentioned offhandedly several months ago that she had never been in a relationship before when Nick had noticed her eyeing a rabbit with red fur at a local coffee shop they favored. He had responded with a sarcastic quip about 'bunnies' and 'natural instincts to breed', which had earned him a swift punch to the arm.

Though now that he thought about it, had she been blushing afterward when she had looked away? Did the rabbit having red fur have anything to do with what color fur she liked? Had she liked him way back then?

Nick groaned and flopped backwards onto his bed as his mind whirled. He was overthinking things again. There was certainly no way she had been at all interested in him back then. They had simply been talking about relationships as friends and how she hadn't been in one before…

His mind drew a new conclusion.

_Was that her first kiss?_

Nick banged his head against his bed multiple times while holding his face with his paws.  _Great...I might have just ruined her first kiss!_

After finishing banging his head a few more times, he let his paws sag to his side. One heck of a friend he was. Even if that wasn't her first kiss, he had still ruined it for her by sitting there like a statue. Then, throughout the rest of the night, by  _falling asleep,_  multiple times even, while Bogo had been talking to them. Nick made up his mind with that thought.

He needed to apologize. Being the reformed con-artist he was, he began going over all the things he needed to apologize for, how he should say them, how to reply to any questions that Judy could possibly ask. Several minutes passed by before Nick felt he was even close to ready to approach his best friend, and hope she was still that afterwards. Or perhaps, that she was something more than a best friend afterwards, assuming she was still interested after his behaviour last night.

Nick pushed himself from the bed and made for the main door of his room. He quietly sneaked through it and down the hall, grateful for the non-creaking floorboards like his actual apartment had. He noticed Judy's door slightly ajar.

 _I thought she closed that last night?_  Nick thought, but was suddenly grateful as it provided one less sound of a closed door clicking open that would announce his presence to his partner. He stood in front of the door, letting his paw reach for the handle, but stopped.

Was he actually doing this?

Was he, Nick Wilde, actually going to try and talk to his friend, his work partner, the one who saved him from a life of hustling pawpsicles, about how much he'd been pining over her like a little cub, and apologize for how awfully he had treated her last night? To hope she would accept his apology and then actually have a talk about... _them?_

As the door opened, he noticed the still form of Judy laying in her bed, the sheets slowing rising and falling to her rhythmic breathing. Suddenly, all the apologies he had thought of blew away like dust in a storm.

Judy was curled into a tight ball in her bed, still in her police uniform. Her position made her seem tiny and frail, words Nick would never use to describe an awake Judy, given her likely response to it! Even when he had seen her asleep, most of which were of her sprawled on his couch after a movie night turned sleepover, she never looked like this, so…

...broken.

It was the only word he could think of. Even in the darkness of her room, the little light streaming in from the opened door gave him more than enough ability to see each feature on Judy's face. Her brows were knit tightly together, her lips turned down at the corners and every few seconds, her nose wiggled just slightly, as if even in her dreams, something had frightened or upset her.

The last feature he saw crushed his resolve; two lines of disturbed fur traced down from her eyes to her cheeks, where the fur had been moist, then dried unevenly.

She had been _crying_.

Nick had so badly crushed her that she had been crying...because of him.

That kiss  _had_  meant something to her.

Nick hung his head in shame and gently closed the door to Judy's room.

He needed some air and some time to think, but where could he go? It wasn't like he'd be able to leave the building, since Bogo had basically put them under house arrest. Nick trudged over to the living room area and collapsed into the sofa, rubbing his head with his paw. Maybe there was some place quiet corner or room he could hide away in for a few hours until he figured things out? The apartment complex the safe house was part of seemed to be more on the high end as apartments in Zootopia went, so there had to be  _somewhere_  he could go.

Nick wondered if maybe there was a map, or any information about the complex listed in their apartment. He slowly got up from the sofa, making sure not to move too quickly, as he still felt a bit woozy, and began opening up any cupboard, drawer or cabinet he could find. Finally, he found an informational packet tucked away in the back of a drawer of the entertainment center, beneath the tv.

He flipped through the pages, his eyes wandering over each page trying to find  _something_  about this place that could distract him from Judy and last night.

Another sigh, another drop of the ears. His mind was always being drawn back to her. Was it his fault that she was so distracting to him? That was what gotten him into his current mess. Her kiss, coming out of nowhere, had distracted his mind so much his silver tongue and quick mind together hadn't overcome the swell of emotions it had brought.

Joy, bliss, fear, anxiety...love.

He had loved the kiss, loved her, yet hadn't admitted it when he had the perfect chance to do so. He could have just wrapped her in his arms, his tail surrounded her lithe frame, leaned in...

Nick shook his head, trying to focus

 _Keep it together, Nick_...he thought to himself.  _You need time to figure out how to apologize to her. You can't just barge in there, get down on a knee and beg for Judy to forgive you, accept you, marry you..._

He nearly dropped the pamphlet, barely managing to grab it as it fluttered nearly to the ground.

Where had  _that_ come from? Nick groaned and slumped back over to the couch, placing his free paw over his eyes. He must have  _really_  been hit hard, if his brain was making connections that weren't supposed to be there and he was getting  _far_  ahead of himself with that last one.  _It was just a first kiss, not a proposal..._ he reasoned.  _And that's if she even accepts my apology after all the blunders I made last night after that kiss._

 _Oopsie number one_...Nick grumbled in his head.  _You gave her the silent treatment after the kiss last night, so she probably thinks you hate her._

_Oopsie number two. You made her cry._

_And oopsie number threesie…_

He didn't need a third reason. Number two was enough to make him loathe himself.

"Why can't things be simple between us," Nick murmured to the emptiness around him before turning to stare down the hallway, hopeful that Judy hadn't heard him. His gaze went back to the pamphlet in paw, as well to his original idea to try and find some way to relax and figure things out, as being on house arrest meant going to his old home under the bridge to think was out of the question.

Near the last page, he finally found what he was looking for; amenities. His eyes tracked down the page, all the while his mind kept going back to memories of Judy before last night, and wondering if he couldn't just turn back time and not break his partner's heart like he was sure he had.

Finally, at the bottom of the page, he spotted an entry that caught his interest. He tossed the pamphlet down onto the sofa and strode back into his room, specifically, to his suitcase. Quickly opening it and perusing through his clothes, (the large case actually managed to contain his entire wardrobe), Nick finally found what he was looking for. The fox quickly changed into the shorts and t-shirt, snuck into the bathroom to grab a towel, all while being careful not to make a sound that could wake his partner, before gliding out towards the front room.

Nick paused with his paw on the front door, then headed swiftly back into the kitchen. Opening a few of the drawers, he finally found a piece of paper and pen, quickly scribbling a messy note as well as a picture onto the paper. Happy with the note, he began scanning the room again, then walked towards the countertop and the stools beneath it.

Moving one of the stools from the counter next to him, he placed the paper on top of it, then set it in the middle of the dining area leading back towards the bedrooms. A place where he was certain Judy would find it.

Again, he sighed heavily at just the thought of his partner. Under a lot of circumstances, probably most, especially since Judy came into his life, Nick  _could_  be a courageous fox. Him now being a police officer showcasing that splendidly, however...when it came to matters of the heart, his resolve was flimsier than jello.

Maybe his trip downstairs could help him in saying those five simple words, in turn forming two sentences that he so needed to tell her.

" _I'm sorry",_ and, " _I love you"._

He opened the front door of their shared apartment, taking one last glance back towards the darkened hallway.

"I let you down last night, Judy...I promise, I won't do it again. I'll figure this out...for us."

Nick quietly shut the door behind him and headed towards the elevators.

Judy lay in bed, violet eyes staring at the had already woken up several times, but was unable to muster the energy to get out of bed and lapsed back into restless sleep. That didn't seem to be happening this time, though, so maybe she should just bite the bullet and get out of bed? However, just like before, Judy found that her willpower seemed to drain away as soon as she tried to move.

At least this time she hadn't fallen back to sleep, so that was an improvement...if the rabbit could consider being awake, just so that she could berate herself over her actions yesterday, an improvement to the depths of restless sleep.

Judy had first woken precisely at 5:30am, even without her alarm clock, as the past year had hardwired that as her bodies time to wake up. Running on autopilot, she prepared to hop out of bed and get changed into her uniform, only to realize she was still in it.

It was then, when it hit her.

She didn't need to go into work today, Bogo had ordered her to take it off...as well as the rest of the week. The harsh slap of reality was like thinking you had awakened from a bad dream, only to find that it wasn't a dream at all. She didn't need to go into work; apparently, work didn't think it needed her.

It was with a tearful resignation that she crawled back into bed, not even bothering to change into pajamas, as she tearfully cried herself to sleep.

She had been so tired last night that Bogo's words hadn't sunk in completely. Now, she felt like she was on the receiving end of one of her own powerful kicks as the weight of her boss' words smashed down upon her.

It wasn't even the fact that she and Nick had been forcibly sent home for a week of rest that bothered her.

No, it was the idea that the case could go on without her.

That Judy Hopps, the first rabbit officer on the ZPD...wasn't needed.

 _That_ idea is what was currently haunting her mind. Her body no longer craved sleep, yet she had no energy to move. She wanted to do something, anything, to distract her from her thoughts. Her paw moved over to a stuffed rabbit on her bed, brushing against the sticker on its chest; a fading 'ZPD Junior Officer' badge that was peeling at the edges.

Judy had received that badge way back in the 3rd grade, after saving one of her classmates, a cougar named Bobby Catmull, from being stuck in a tree. A police officer, a kind and considerate tiger, had given it to her, saying that with her quick thinking she could become a police officer someday, if she wanted to. He had inspired her, and  _that_  had been the moment she decided her dream in life was to do just that, and join the ZPD.

Now, that day seemed so long ago, and the sticker the tiger had given her, as her unofficial 'badge' was faded and worn. A symbol of hopes and dreams of a young rabbit that, someday, she could be something more than just a stereotypical carrot farming, dumb bunny. That she could do more, contribute more. That her life could mean more.

Her paw fell from the plush animal as her eyes moved towards her alarm clock. It read 10:37am. Judy groaned and again tried to force herself to move from her bed, to confront the realities of the day and the week ahead.

A quote from Chief Bogo suddenly came to her mind, one that he had told all the recruits during a guest lecture at the police academy, back before she knew the buffalo would one day be her boss.

"Suck it up."

Three words. Just three words that Bogo had repeated several times to the academy students.

If you just were given an assignment you didn't enjoy? Suck it up!

If you had citizens yelling at you all day? Suck it up!

If you were injured on the job? Shot? Stabbed? Suck it up! (Judy had been appalled at that comment, but was scared by Bogo's glare and said nothing, as she was semi-sure he wasn't serious)

If you had a partner you didn't get along with? Suck...it...up!

Partner…

Nick.

The kiss.

A new wave of emotions and memories from last night rolled through her mind like an avalanche down a mountain. It filled every crevice and hiding place, rampaged like floodwaters over an open basin with the realization of what had occurred between Judy and her best friend.

She may have unwittingly destroyed her partnership with Nick Wilde...the fox she had come to realize she loved, but may not love her back.

Judy suddenly wasn't sure what was worse; being sent home for a week of leave, or having Nick put up with her as his partner, when he obviously didn't think of her the same way she did about him. She had read about these sorts of cliche and cheesy situations in trashy romance novels she had flipped through at the Bunnyburrow library years ago.

Unrequited love, she thought, was what it was called.

Hell seemed to be a more apt term, now that she was feeling it herself.

At least, that is what it felt like to the rabbit right after the kiss, to have Nick sitting there in silence. No, "Wow", or even an "Eww"; just, silence. She knew Nick was one to hide his feelings most of the time, so maybe he had been doing just that?

 _Suck it up!_  Her mind told her, though not the quippy, snarky voice that had gotten her into so much trouble last night.  _Worrying about what happened will only turn you into a distracted cop. You know what Ursula told you about being a distracted cop. Being distracted means you'll be dead! Act like he's just your partner, and that's all he'll be. Who cares if he likes you back or not, you have a job to do when you get back. Let Nick go and suck it up!_

Sighing heavily, Judy found herself somewhat in agreement with the thoughts swirling through her head, even if they did feel like they were shattering her heart. If she was to continue her partnership with Nick, the one she felt she loved, she would simply have to accept he didn't love her back.

With a final sigh, she shoved herself slowly out of bed, her feet landing on the carpet below. She shuffled slowly to the door, pausing as she went to open it.

 _I thought for sure I closed this last night_ …Judy's mind started swirling once more.  _Had Nick come it to check on me? Did he try to come in and talk to me about last night?_

The doe shook her head, trying to avoid grasping at straws like that.

_No, he didn't come to check on you. No, he doesn't care about you like that._

_Now stop being a dumb bunny and just suck it up._

She left her room, shutting the door on her thoughts and what Nick may or may not have been up to while she was asleep.

Speaking of which, where was he?

The door to his room was open, revealing an empty bed and opened suitcase.

 _He couldn't have gone anywhere, we're under strict **stay in the safehouse**  orders_...Judy thought, puzzled over where he could be, as she didn't hear any noise from the front rooms of the apartment. Shaking her head, she slipped back out of his room and into the hallway, listening for any noise her roommate could be making.

Upon entering the dining room and kitchen however, she found nary a fox to be seen. Both rooms were empty and as she rounded the corner from the hallway into the living room, Nick wasn't in there either.

"Where could he have gone?"

Maybe Nick had been asleep when Bogo had told them they both had to stay inside their apartment complex for the following week? It was a possibility, after all, though Nick wouldn't have gotten far, as Bogo  _had_  assigned officers to guard the entry points to the complex. So, he had to be in the building somewhere…

She thought about where Nick could have gone as she searched the cupboards for any food that was bland enough for her, given how unsettled she still felt at the events of the previous night. Neither of them had gone grocery shopping yet, so the shelves were pitifully bare of anything besides dust and dishes. She finally found a granola bar that still looked  _somewhat_  edible and began nibbling on that as she wandered into the living room, staring at everything and nothing at all.

_Where is he?_

Judy hadn't noticed the stool in the middle of the room and walked straight into it, toppling it over. She barely was able to keep herself up, steadying herself on the now flipped stool as the remains of her granola bar went flying over the couch, disappearing from view. The doe grumbled a few choice words about the placement of the stool, wondering why Nick would have left furniture in the middle of the room, when her paw stepped onto something.

Removing her foot, she noticed a now crinkled piece of paper lying on the floor. Curiosity got the best of her, as she reached down and picked up the scrap of paper.

Scanning the writing on the note left Judy shaking her head and chuckling at the nearly illegible handwriting she instantly recognized as Nick's.

" _To the sleepy Carrot: Was bored of watching you sleep (you snore by the way), so decided to do something that you'd find even more dull, relaxing. They have a spa with a jacuzzi here, so if you feel like knowing what relaxation feels like, you can join me._

_PS: If you DID decide to come, would that make you a boiled Carrot? I would LOVE to see that. ;)"_

Next to writing were two stick figure drawings, one labelled 'fox', the other, 'Boiled Carrot', sitting in what must be a pool or hot tub. Judy laughed, clicking her tongue as she set the paper onto the nearby table before righting the stool.

"Dumb fox," she quipped as she headed for the kitchen in the vain hope of finding a second snack. She paused as she reached where the carpeting of the dining room turned into the wooden floor of the kitchen.

" _He'd LOVE to see a boiled Carrot?"_

Judy felt her heart pound in her chest as a flurry of emotions she thought she'd left back in her bedroom resurfaced.

He'd written love in all caps, could it possibly mean something?

" _Look who's being the dumb bunny now, thinking that some capital letters could mean he may like you,"_ came a snarky voice inside her mind. Judy rubbed her head, before another phrase came to mind. She repeated it aloud, hoping it would silence the thoughts in her mind and the feelings in her heart.

"Don't let them see that they get to you. Don't let them see that they get to you..." She breathed in, repeating the mantra a third time, though found the words had slightly changed.

"Don't let Nick see that he gets to you…"

 _Ah, cheese and crackers, who am I kidding._ Judy growled in frustration, annoyed at just how easily Nick, and her feelings about him, kept assaulting her when she just wanted them to go away, or at least be as silent as he had been last night. She walked over the the sofa and dropped onto it, putting her head in her paws.

" _You can't just bottle this up and think it will go away. You need to know what he thinks."_

The voice was nagging her again, though she realized that maybe it held some truth to it. Being the ever-so-analytical rabbit officer she was, Judy began going over Nick's behavior leading up to last night, instead of just worrying about how he responded after the kiss.

The constant flirtatious behavior around her, the jokes, the innuendos. The touches and words of affirmation he had been giving her more and more, the closeness, and above all else, how he had been calling her Judy much more often than ever before. All those signs led her to believe that Nick  _had_  to have at least been somewhat interested in her, above and beyond their existing friendship.

But then, last night happened, and his reaction had been the exact opposite of what she would have expected if he  _had_ indeed liked her. He had gone rigid, cold, and quite silent. Not the signs one is looking for when kissing their love interest.

After analyzing both reactions, Judy groaned and flopped back into the back of the couch. She didn't know what to think about what was going on inside Nick's head. Several more minutes of frustrated thought passed by, and while her understanding didn't change, her annoyance at the fox certainly increased.

" _Seems like the only solution is to go down there and ask him. It's the only way you'll know for sure."_

"But I don't know what to even ask!" Judy growled aloud in frustration.

She did realize something, though, after sitting another minute just in silence...when had not knowing something ever stopped her before?

" _Just follow your gut, you dumb bunny."_

"I am not a dumb bunny…" Judy growled at the voice, though realizing that, if anyone else was in the room, she might not look dumb, but would look crazy.

" _That's right, you're not a dumb bunny. You're Judy Hopps. The bunny who doesn't have quit in her vocabulary. Who never took 'you can't' for an answer. No way is she going to take silence as an answer to a question…"_ She could tell the voice in her mind was grinning at this point.

" _And you're the rabbit who will find out exactly what Nick Wilde thinks of her before the end of the day, even if you have to end up beating it out of him…"_

Judy actually laughed at the mental image of her standing over Nick, threatening him unless he told her what he thought of her. It was such a crazy idea, she couldn't do anything else, but it did give her a few ideas.

Her eyes gleaming in determination, she eyed the note Nick left her and formed a plan. If he was thinking he could escape from what had happened, the fox had another thing coming.

"So he wants to see a 'boiled Carrot, huh?" Judy murmured under her breath as she made her way back towards her room. She ignored the growling from her stomach and, instead, opened her suitcase, rifling through her clothes. "I'll give him  _more_  than just a boiled Carrot.." she growled, flinging clothes from the suitcase left and right and over her ears.  _Angry Carrot, peeved Carrot, sexy Carrot…_

She stopped, her paw mid throw of a pair of pants. Judy smirked and threw the garment behind her.  _I think that last one could be more fun than the others...and maybe get my answer quicker._

The voice in the back of her mind cackled in agreement.

She continued throwing clothes, making a mess of her room in a completely un-Judy-like fashion until her paws grasped the garment she was looking for.

_Oh, this will definitely help today..._

A glimmer in her eye, she quickly changed, then headed for the door to the safe house.

She was going to get her answer, whether Nick wanted to give it to her or not.

"Now this...this is what I could get used to."

Nick settled deeper into the saltwater hot tub, sighing contentedly as the water foamed and bubbled around him. He was suddenly  _very_  glad that he had found that brochure, as the warm water felt heavenly against his sore ab muscles and chest. The hot tub itself was massive, as it had to be in order to indulge all sizes of mammals. Currently, Nick was sitting in the medium mammal area with the jets set on 'small mammal' setting.

The fox sighed contentedly.  _Maybe I could invite her to dinner?_  It would be a good first step, maybe, and at least then he might be able to sum up the courage to ask her about last night.

He quickly threw that idea away. Upon exiting the elevator, he had received an earful from Officer Clawington, who was guarding the front door. The tiger had chewed him up one side and down the other for leaving the apartment, though Nick had barely managed to convince him to let him into the pool area, saying it was part of his 'recovery'.

If that was the officer's reaction to just walking around  _in_ the building, how did Nick expect the big cat to allow Judy and him to even step outside the apartment complex, let alone go to some fancy restaurant so that Nick could finally pour out his heart, soul, and apologies to his favorite rabbit.

Besides, in one of his non-sleeping and mostly-lucid moments from last night, he remembered Bogo making it quite clear that he and Judy were not to even set foot outside their building for a week. That would mean a week of sitting in the apartment,  _alone,_  with Judy. Not trying to settle his feelings for her and come clean was not an option under those circumstances; he'd go insane seeing her in pain from his inaction within a few hours, let alone a week!

But how to do it?  _That_  was the question nagging on Nick's mind.

Nick was so engrossed in his own thoughts that he barely noticed the sound of a door opening, let alone the soft padding of paws coming up behind him, until the soft tap-tapping of a certain rabbit's foot awoke him from his drowsy state. It wasn't until he heard a "ehem" from behind him did his ears perk up.

"So," Judy began as a nervous smile crept up Nick's lips. "You like boiled carrots now, Nick?"

Nick's ears flicked backwards towards her voice. He quelled the urge to jump out of the hot tub and embrace her in a hug

If he was going to make things up to Judy, he had to do it the right way. The Nick way...

"Well, only certain types of boiled carrots." He began, his regular smirk returning to his face as he began to turn towards the rabbit behind him. "They have to be of the…"

He stopped as his brain suddenly locked up at the sight before him.

Nick wasn't sure which was more stunning, the dark purple one piece swimsuit which seemed to shimmer on the rabbit as Judy moved, or the impish grin and ears half flopped down over her face.

"I...uh…"

Nick stammered for a response as Judy approached the hot tub from behind him, his eyes not leaving her for a moment as the doe hopped down the steps and into the bubbling water. She sighed in relief, switching over onto her back and began floating in the water.

"I can see why you came down here," she sighed as her eyes closed, a content smile gracing her lips. "This feels so good."

He watched her floating around the hot tub, letting the water guide her in lazy circles. Nick nervously laughed as she floated quite close to where he was sitting, her ears actually touching his chest as she floated by.

After another minute, Judy opened one eye and noticed he was staring at her.

She smiled.

"Guess you must actually like boiled carrots by the look on your face." A smirk grew on her lips, "Care for a nibble?" she quipped, causing him to quickly shut his mouth, which had been hanging open slightly. "Though after last night, I'm not sure what you may or may not like, since you seemed to have lost your voice."

 _Oh great..._ Nick thought as his brain began a maddening search for escape plans to the conversation that he knew was coming. This wasn't how he had wanted to approach her. He needed more time to think of the proper way to let her know how he felt and how to apologize. This was all so sudden. So unplanned. So…

_Judy._

Judy was immensely enjoying the reaction she was getting out of the fox before her. Nick's jaw had dropped and he was now just staring up at her. To be honest, she felt almost nervous under his gaze, wanting to abandon her idea of flirting, cajoling and shocking out Nick's thoughts about her, obey her rabbit instincts instructing her to run and hide from him, and the answers he could give her.

Though, on the other paw, rendering him speechless just from wearing a swimsuit was doing  _wonderful_  things for her self-image.

"Will wonders never cease. And here I thought you had a comeback for everything, Nick. Though you seem to be on a roll with missing them, if you count last night as well."

His mouth suddenly clamped shut and his ears dropped.

"So, why did you come down here?" Judy questioned, knowing that eventually Nick would have to crack under the pressure and she'd finally have an answer from him.

"I needed to think."

"About what?" Judy probed.

"Things…"

"What type of things?"

"Fox things."

"What kind of  _foxy things_?"

Nick remained silent and looked away as his ears lowered. "Important foxy things."

"You mean like last night?"

His ears shot up.

_Gotcha..._

She had him.  _Don't let them see that they get to you my fluffy tail_...Judy thought, smirking.  _You're more readable than my first grade assignments right now._

"You...remember last night, don't you?" She changed her voice to a sweeter tone, the unusually flirty nature of her tone demanding Nick's attention. Judy knew he  _had_  to have remembered last night, otherwise, he'd have no need to 'relax' like his note had said. He could have done that up in their room on the sofa, but that would have meant he'd have been around her. Nick must have thought that, by coming down here, she'd have to play by his rules, and there was no chance Judy was letting that happen.

"I remember the back of my eyelids quite a bit, if that's what you mean," Nick casually replied with a shrug, though Judy was beginning to notice his eyes were shifting awkwardly around the room, landing on everything but her.

Her eyes narrowed.

"Well, if that's all you remember, then I think we need to have a refresher about what happened...between  _us._ "

Nick was on his game, it appeared, as her comment barely seemed to register with the fox.

Though  _barely_  was all she needed, as she saw his left ear twitch slightly. The key to a good interrogation was knowing when you've found a hole or a weakness in the person you're interrogating, then exploit it again and again until they crack. Judy was glad that taking all those extra psychology seminars at the academy was finally paying off.

"Oh, so you don't remember what happened?" she asked, hurt lacing her voice.

Another ear twitch. "You mean, with Chief and the case?"

"I mean the  _other_  thing."

"I must have been asleep, Carrots," Nick evaded, although you'd need to know him well to spot the signals. "You know how foxes are, all diurnal and such. Can't stay up past midnight without snoozing off."

A quote from one of her instructors ran through her mind.

' _A suspect, when cornered, may attempt to use humor to lighten the mood_.'

"I suppose that is true," Judy began, staring off into a corner of the room. "Though, with what happened at the ambulance, I thought you would have been awake all night."

Another ear twitch.

"Oh, that. Yeah, these stitches are a bit itchy." Nick lazily drew his paw to his forehead, touching the ragged cut above his eyebrow.

"I wasn't talking about that, Nick."

"Honestly, then, I'm not sure what you're going on about."

"I think you do."

"Did I fall asleep in the ambulance?"

"No. That might be the only place you didn't fall asleep."

"Hit on the nurse?"

"Only one mammal was doing any  _'hitting on_ ' there, Nick."

This time, both ears twitched and a slight grimace formed on Nick's lips. That one appeared to have stung him a bit. She stared at him for a while, the only noise in the room coming from the water roiling around them.

Nick seemed to deflate a bit, sighing heavily as his gaze dropped to the water swirling around him.

"Judy, listen I…"

"I was listening all last night, but you didn't seem to be talking much."

Nick scrunched in on himself. "I'm sorry about last night, Judy. I.."

" _Just_ , sorry?"

Nick stared at her. "Why are you doing this, Carrots?"

"Doing what?" she chirped back, pleased with the false amusement in her voice.

"We both know you're no dumb bunny, so you can drop the act, Carrots. What are you trying to get me to say?"

"For starters, more than you did last night."

He actually winced at that one, and Judy suddenly felt a bit sorry for taking this approach with her partner. Nick had always been a private mammal, so maybe confronting him like this might not have been the best idea. She ruthlessly quashed that line of thinking, though; she had put herself out there with that kiss, and Nick had hurt her badly with his response, or lack thereof. If it took her giving a little of that hurt back to get an honest answer out of the fox, so be it.

"You just caught me by surprise," he finally mumbled.

"What was a surprise?"

"Can you please stop it with the questions?" Nick suddenly shouted. Judy jumped back slightly at the harshness of his tone. Nick's eyes widened and his ears suddenly dropped as he lowered himself deeper into the water. "Sorry...it's just..." The fox glanced at Judy once, then seemed to look past her at the wall.

Suddenly, Nick's quietness made sense to the rabbit. She suddenly looked at him with new eyes.

"You just didn't know what to say." she finished for him. He glanced at her, his emerald eyes speaking much more than his words ever could. "Look, Nick. I'm a bit new at all this, but, I just wanted to clear the air between us. What happened last night, I think, was an eye-opener to both of us. I need to know something, but I don't want to say it for you." She looked him steadily in the eye until his eyes met her own.

"I want to know how you feel about me...about...us?"

And there it was...just like that. All the ideas about how he would approach this subject were out the window. He had suspected that Judy might force the issue, but, dang it, he wanted more time to prepare!

"That's a tough question there, Carrots," Nick stated while scratching at his ears nervously. "Can I have some time to answer it?"

"You had all of last night," Judy replied with what was almost a frustrated growl. "So, I think you've had  _plenty_  of time."

_Ouch…and here I thought I was good with cutting remarks.._

If Nick could feel even worse about himself, that comment did it. His shoulders finally slouched until they were underwater. He switched from scratching his ears to rubbing his forehead. "Judy, it isn't that simple…" he said as with a wave of his hand before dropping it behind him.

The hot tub they were in was quite an advanced model for being in an apartment complex. Behind each seat set into the tub there were buttons to control both individual settings for that single seat, as well as settings to control the entire tub. There were settings to switch the jets between small, medium and large mammals as well. Nick's absent-minded arm movement had accidentally hit the button controlling the jets on the entire tub, switching it from small mammal, to large.

Bubbles shot out around both mammals as the jets roared to life at full power. Several powerful streams designed to be soothing to mammals like elephants and rhinos shot out into their backs, startling them both. Unprepared for the sudden pressure, they shot out of their seats and were forced into the center of the tub, bumping into each other.

Nick grabbed Judy tightly as the jets shoved them off in another direction, the currents pushing them near to one of the wall seats. He frantically reached behind him, gripping into the side of the tub and planting his butt firmly on the seat, fighting the force of the currents, only relaxing when his paw managed to reach the controls and shut off the jets. Both Nick and Judy lay panting in each other's arms, still gripping each other tightly from the sudden rush.

"Someone needs to put a warning on that," Nick finally breathed. Judy nodded, her paws still clutched onto his chest as she looked up at him. They both laughed, though with their close proximity, both sounded more nervous than happy.

_This is your opportunity Nick! Just tell her what you feel about her!_

Nick glanced down at the rabbit in his arm and felt heat, not coming from the water, rising in his ears. Her nervous chuckles died and she attempted to push herself off the fox.

After everything he had put her through last night, Nick wasn't going to have any of it.

"What are you doing, Nick?" Judy asked as she felt Nick's arm tighten around her, pulling her back into his chest. She was blushing furiously, as Nick could actually see the insides of her ears turning bright red.

"Something I should have done last night," he replied, staring down at her. Her eyes widened as he lowered his head towards her.

Their lips connected, and it was bliss.

All the pent up feelings he had felt over the past few weeks, the sudden anguish at the realization of how he had treated her last night, the elation of his realizing Judy liked him; they all combined into this one moment for Nick.

He pulled away after who knows how long, keeping track of the time was not the first thing on his mind. Not even in the top ten. "You don't know how long I've wanted to do that, Judy."

What came next was unexpected.

The slap caught him off guard as Judy's open palm smashed into his cheek with such force it knocked his head sideways. All at once his mouth dropped, his grip around Judy loosened and his free paw went to his cheek, as Judy jumped from his grasp, landing with her feet on the adjacent jacuzzi seat.

"What the…" was all he could say as he looked up to see a furious Judy glaring down at him.

"Then  _why_  didn't you do that last night, you dumb fox!"

Nick was silent, mesmerized by the angry bunny before him.

"Carrots...I…"

"Don't you  _Carrots_  me, Nick! I've been through emotional  _hell_  since last night." Judy grabbed at her ears and pulled them over her eyes, letting loose a growl. "I've been trying to figure out if I made a mistake, or if you hated me, or if I ruined our friendship...all because you didn't do something you say  _you should have done last night?_  Let alone how Bogo seemed like he was a hair's breadth away from firing us! Crying myself to sleep because I thought I had ruined my career, your career,  _everything_ , and not understanding why my partner was  _ignoring me!_ "

She released her ears and Nick could see her glaring at him. She pointed a clawed digit towards the fox, prodding him in the chest, although Nick was too distracted by the revelation about Judy's tears to really notice.

"So...my not kissing you back isn't what made you cry?" Nick managed to interject, still shocked he'd misread the cause.

"I  _finally_  decided that I should come down here, just to get some answers out of you...wait, you thought I was just crying over  _the kiss_?" She prodded him again in his chest.

"Carrots…"

"Sweet cheese and crackers, how self-centered can you be?! Do you often go around making vixens cry, Nick?"

"Not as often as I think I do, apparently," Nick mumbled, but not quietly enough to escape Judy's fluffy ears. Her eyes narrowed, dangerously.

"So you've spent the entire morning thinking  _you_  made me cry myself to sleep, and  _I_  still had to be the one to come down here and force a confession out of you?"

Nick looked away from her furious glare, unwilling to respond as she called him out. Not that it saved him.

"You insufferable..." she poked him in the chest. "...stupid," another poke. "...prideful..." that one actually hurt as she jabbed him. "...self centered… dumb fox!"

Nick yelped as the last poke was hard enough to push his back against the wall of the hot tub. In frustration, Nick reached up and grabbed her paw as it appeared she was starting another round of name calling.

"Judy…" he said in a soft voice as her eyes shifted from a angry glare to confusion, back to anger then finally a mixture of the two.

"Unpaw me you jerk! I wasn't through poking you and I still have a lot to..."

She was quickly cut off as Nick pulled her down against his chest again, his lips rising to meet her own once more. She squeaked at the suddenness of it, her ears standing straight up for several seconds. It wasn't until he released her lips for a quick breath, then went plunging back in, that her ears gently dropped behind her and she relaxed into the kiss. She found her paw released from Nick's grip and they made their way around the fox's neck without any conscious thought on her part. Judy leaned into Nick, finding her footing by kneeling on his legs, letting her be eye level with him.

They parted again, both staring into each other's eyes.

"I'm sorry I made you not cry, Judy," Nick stated, lowering his head, though she caught a hint of a smirk playing on his face.

Judy gave a small snort of amusement, but smothered her amusement with a glare and raised an eyebrow, clearly indicating that wasn't sufficient for her demands.

Nigh sighed heavily. "I'm sorry for being such a dumb fox, Judy. Apologizing to those I hustled wasn't good for business so I never did it." Nick's eyes widened, then dropped away, refusing to meet Judy's gaze. "Wait… no. That sounds so awful right now, comparing you to those I hustled…"

He looked at Judy quickly, seeing her eyebrow arch even more.

"Gah! Look, I don't know how to do this. Be emotional, like you bunnies. But, I don't want to lose this. What we have. So, for now, can I just IOU a 'get out of jail free' card until I figure out how use my silver tongue for something good for a change? Like making sure I don't mess up whatever special-ness we have here? At least, more than I already have."

Judy held her glare for a few seconds more, before rolling her eyes, "You are terrible at apologies, you know that, right?"

Nick chuckled a little. "It's not something I've had a lot of practice with."

"Well, maybe you can just work on a different way of apologizing then," Judy smiled at him, a mischievous grin sparkle in her eyes.

"Now how would I go about doing that?" Nick's own eyes had taken on the same glint. "As apparently my previous attempt at a heartfelt apology was met with dubious acceptance."

Judy rolled her eyes. "Just shut up and kiss me, you dumb fox. We can start with that."

Nick laughed, "Judy, have I ever told you I have a thing for Carrots?"

"Don't tell me, show me," Judy replied, with a seductive look that Nick would swear was straight out of his dream.

"With pleasure," he replied as they leaned into each other, their lips pressing together once more. 


	19. Leap of Faith

 

Judy thought she knew what bliss was before; laying in a field of clover back home, a gentle breeze, taking a lazy stroll through her family's fields, catching the crook at the end of a long chase...

Yet, as much enjoyment she found in all those activities and thrilling events, nothing could compare to those few hours spent in a hot tub with  _her_ fox, Nick. The morning and afternoon seemed to swirl together in blur of activity. After their second kiss, which both Nick and Judy decided should count as their real 'first kiss', the two enjoyed several hours sitting in the hot tub, cuddling, kissing and enjoying one another's company with nary a care in the world. They hadn't taken it any farther than kissing, though, as both were happy enough with the current situation, and slightly nervous to even think to take things further.

There were also the awkward moments; the nervousness that came with finding the boundaries to their budding relationship. A few times, Nick would ask if he was being too forward with a kiss much longer than most, while in other moments, Judy would be the one asking if she was sitting too close, or being too clingy as she found herself wrapping her arms around Nick's chest, nervously looking into the fox's green eyes with her own lavender ones on several occasions. It would only be after Nick's quick reassurance that she was indeed fine, did she feel comfortable to retreat back to her hold on his chest, nuzzling him gently.

They, of course, didn't spend the entire time kissing or cuddling. Their conversation, now that the elephant in the room was gone, no offence to Officer Francine of course, went in several directions as the nervousness and hesitancy around them wasn't as strong or lucid any longer. They spoke on their favorite coffee shops in town, places they'd like to visit, as well as favorite memories from their time together on the force, or from before.

Judy particularly enjoyed hearing about one of Nick's more innocuous and 'legal' hustles he had tried when he had first begun his, 'life of crime', as he described it, adding extra emphasis by adding air quotes to the phrase with his paws. Judy had snuggled into his side partway through the story, smiling as his hands would dictate what he spoke, sometimes waving in front of him with a wild abandon, and other times with tiny, calculated movements. She barely even noticed when he had stopped speaking, only noticing his arm had suddenly found itself wrapped around her side instead of gesticulating wildly.

"Am I boring you?" Nick asked hesitantly, causing an instant blush in the rabbit. She retracted from her hug, frantically offering apology after apology. In her rush to retreat, she toppled backwards into the roiling water with a splash as she tried frantically to tell him he was anything but boring. She sputtered as she surfaced, her ears flopped over the front of her face and her cheeks warm, and not from the water. She heard Nick chuckle, then reach out and gently lift one of her ears with his paw, allowing her to see him looking at her.

"You alright there, Fluff? You're supposed to stay above water, not below it."

Judy had been oblivious to the comment though, as Nick's paw had just ran its way up her ear. She froze as a shiver went through her, a movement Nick faintly caught. He glanced at his paw, noticing his claws had extended and one was currently tracing itself along the inner edge of Judy's ear. His eyes widened and he nervously withdrew his paw.

"Er, sorry Judy," he stammered, looking away while when he felt something on his paw. He looked over, noticing that Judy was holding it in her own, then watched in confusion as she placed it back on her ear.

"Are you sure, Judy?" Nick asked hesitantly, his eyes scanning her face to gauge her reaction. He could feel the heat coming from her ears through his paw. "I mean, if you mind I can…"

Judy shook her head, then looked as if she was searching for something to say.

"It's ok, Nick. I mean, it felt..."

"Bad? Painful?," Nick interjected.

"No, you silly fox," Judy replied, smiling timidly. "It felt...good. Sorry I flinched, I think it shocked me a little just  _how_  good it felt. Rabbit ears are pretty sensitive, and touching them is a bit personal. Nobody but my parents has ever done that, and.." she lowered her head, grabbing her other ear with her paws while rubbing it up and don't in what must have been embarrassment, in Nick's eyes. "...it didn't feel the same. I just, have never had anyone touch my ears with a…"

"Claw?"

Judy nodded, blushing under Nick's gaze.

"Is it ok?" Nick hesitated, but with Judy placing his paw over her ears, he mustered the rest of the words forward, "I'll keep going, but only if you're comfortable...?"

Judy nodded, smiling shyly as her paws went away from rubbing her other ear. Nick felt a huge burden lifted from his mind, and smiled softly as his paw went back to tracing the rabbit's ear.

His smile deepened, and he finally felt himself relax as he felt Judy lean into him, purring contentedly.

It was only when Nick made the comment that looking like a prune was not a good look for a fox, that the pair finally left the spa, walking paw in paw back to their room. As they rounded the corner towards the elevator, they saw Officer Clawington at his post near the entrance of the building. Judy was about to go say hello, dragging Nick alongside by his paw, when she felt his paw unlatch itself from her own. She stopped, looking back at him as he shook his head, offering a shy smile as he placed his paw now on her shoulder, guiding her to the elevator. Judy waved to Officer Clawington, who watched them as they walked past, the tiger offering them a silent rebuke at even being out of their room. As the doors of the elevator closed upon them, she finally asked…

"Why'd you stop holding my paw when you saw Clawington?"

Nick looked quietly down at her, a sad smile on his face and an answer that was somewhat disconcerting to Judy.

"I don't think we're ready for  _that_  reaction yet."

Judy stared up at Nick, who for the first time that day wore a frown. It was strange to her, how quickly he had gone from jubilant to worried. What was so bad about holding paws in front of Clawington? Sure, he wasn't the  _nicest_  officer on the force, and they  _had_  managed to irk him by coming down to the pool in the first place, but surely he wouldn't think anything strange about a rabbit holding a fox's paw.

This was Zootopia, wasn't it?

Still, Nick's reaction worried her. He was a street-smart fox, and knew the mannerisms and thoughts of the city better than probably most in city hall did.

_I don't understand what's going on here..._

The doors to the elevator opened just as Judy was about to question the fox, when Nick called dibs on the first shower and sprinted off down the hall, cackling as he went. Judy sprinted after him, deciding the question could wait for another time. No  _way_  was she letting Nick beat her in a foot race, he'd hold it over her for ages!

Judy sighed, letting the warm water from the shower wash over her fur. She had beat Nick into the apartment when he opened the door, slipping in right past his feet, causing him to stumble into the apartment while she sprinted into the bathroom. Now, she was enjoying the refreshing spray, letting it rinse the salt from her fur.

She let out a contented sigh as memories of that morning ran through her mind, while a shudder of excitement worked up her spine. She couldn't help but let out a short, happy,  _'eep'_ , grinning at the thought of how her feelings for Nick were  _finally_ in the open.

_I can't believe it! It actually happened...we're...we're a couple!_

She squealed in delight like a school-kit as her smile grew. Judy felt she was going to pop like a balloon, due to the happiness welling inside her. She finally gave into her rabbit instincts and hopped for joy, spinning around in the shower while pumping her fist.

She hadn't binkied in ages, and it was so good to let that one out.

Nick, her partner…

"My partner," she repeated aloud, humming in excitement. Her plan, while not perfect, had been executed well, and she had finally gotten the answer she'd been wanting for a while. Judy had her suspicions, but had never been able to plan or formulate a way to bring the topic up with her partner. In the end, it had  _only_ taken a frantic night chase through Tundratown, a sudden kiss, and a set of completely unplanned circumstances to turn dreams into reality.

Though, now that they were officially a couple, what was she supposed to do? Judy had never been in a relationship before; the closest was when she had gone on two dates with a cream colored bunny named Roger Rabat from Deerbrook County. Not that she should have even counted the second date  _as_  a date, since Roger had actually left her halfway through it after spotting a red furred and  _very_  scantily-clad bunny named Jessica.

At least he paid for her meal, even if she ended up eating it alone.

It  _was_  a pretty tasty salad though, and since  _Roger_  let the waiter know he was paying, once he was gone, she hadn't minded buying an appetizer, dessert, and a few extras for her siblings back home...

Judy shook the thought from her head,  _this_  wasn't going to be anything like any of her previous dates or attempts at relationships. Though, even calling them attempts was a stretch. Judy had always been focused on her goal of becoming a police officer, and as such, had not given dating too much thought while growing up. As her littermates dated and got married, she had gone to college and studied law and forensics. When the younger litter after her started dating, she had been interning at the Bunnyburrow Sheriff's department, waiting for her application to the ZPD Cadet Training Program to go through.

And when her favorite sister, Sariah, five years her younger, had her first litter...Judy was 24 and had finally graduated from the academy and achieved her dream.

Dating was such a different realm from police work, how she could relate the two together?

"It can't be  _that_ difficult to be in a relationship," Judy said, quietly, as she grabbed her shampoo and lathered some into her fur, relishing the feeling of cleanliness that came with it. "I mean, how hard could it be? I like Nick, and he likes me."

A soft rapping on the door to the bathroom startled her out of her thoughts, a muffled voice coming through the door.

"Now Carrots, if you try and use all the hot water, I might just have to come in there and share it with you."

Judy let out a quick 'eep' and rushed to finish rinsing out the shampoo.

The rest of the afternoon was spent idling away their time. For a while, they simply sat on the couch, not knowing  _what_  to do exactly. They sat close enough to where they could reach out and touch the other's paw, but far enough away where it would be awkward to do so. They talked, but it seemed so... _forced_ , that Judy eventually had enough of the rigidity of it all, jumped up from her seat, grabbed a pillow and threw herself onto Nick while being careful of his ribs and hurt ab muscles.

The tension in the air was cut, and the two went quickly into what Nick affectionately called, 'Cuddle Mode', where Nick lay against the armrest of the sofa, his arm propping his head up while his other paw held the tv remote, with Judy laying in front of him, cuddling close to his chest. Every now and then Nick heard a purr come from the rabbit, and would catch the doe stealing glances at him as they watched repetitive shows on television.

They watched a few daytime dramas, only because they both found the over the top situations hilarious, and Nick did an excellent impersonation of one of the characters in the show, "Doe's of our Lives", which caused Judy to snort in laughter several times. He did it so well, in fact, that at one point, Judy muted the tv, pushing the fox to make up the lines for the characters to hilarious results. Judy quickly joined in, taking over the female leads' role and together, they created cheesy, romantic dialogue that rivaled the best and worst they'd heard on the show so far.

Before they even knew it, the light streaming into their apartment from outside began to wane, and the fox and rabbit realized they had spent nearly the entire day on the couch, snuggled up against each other and relaxing in each other's embrace.

They began getting up from the couch, only for Nick to groan and lay back down clutching his side. Judy cursed inwardly, realizing that the position they had been lying in was probably not the best for his ribs and muscles to heal properly. She helped him up and into his room, grabbing an ice pack from the freezer and placing it onto his stomach and chest. Thankfully, Judy managed to grab one that was used for larger mammals, and although Nick had laughed when she walked into his room carrying it, her head and ears barely poking out above the massive blue bag of ice, she was the one laughing last as she placed it on his chest, hearing him repeating the words,  _'cold, cold, cold'_  under his breath as she left, shutting the door behind her.

As she left his room, she heard her stomach growling it's annoyance at her. Looking at her watch, she noticed the time and shook her head.

She should probably order some dinner for them while Nick rested and  _finally_  followed the doctor's orders.

Judy skipped into the living room, plopping down onto the couch while thumbing through her phone, looking for nearby restaurants that delivered. None really stood out, and when she did find a few, she had to wonder if they were something that Nick would enjoy.

"What does he like to eat?" Judy wondered, scratching her ears. They had eaten out many times, and at dozens of different places. It didn't seem like Nick had a preference, as they'd dined out at everything from regular Zootopian places, fast food, noodles, burritos...everywhere really.

_It couldn't just be anywhere for tonight though_ , Judy thought, scrolling through another page of restaurant links and reviews on Yip. It would be their first meal together as a couple, and Judy wanted it to be special. Well, as special as take-out gets, at least.

"He did mention something about trying out that burrito place last week, what was its name…?" Judy questioned. The bunny began a search by typing in 'burrito' on her phone, a bit annoyed to find hundreds of entries of restaurant. Chipeccary's was first on the list, though she quickly threw that out after reading the reviews of all the food poisoning that had occurred there recently. Plus it didn't sound like the restaurant Nick had mentioned.

"Found it!"

Judy pumped her fist as she found the restaurant a few pages later, her eyes widening and ears shooting up in excitement. The place, Baaaja Fresh, seemed to have good reviews, and the bunny was impressed by their menu. She knew that Nick usually ate cricket burrito's when they went out to places like that, though he'd probably like the shrimp tacos as well…

Judy made her decision, called the number, and placed the order. Now all she had to do, was wait.

When the delivery mammal arrived, a somewhat skinny pig escorted by a nervous Officer Hiberton, who had replaced Clawington. The officer had tried to explain to the delivery mammal that he couldn't come up, and to drop the food off with him and wait for the bear to return with the bill, but the pig wouldn't budge from heading upstairs. Judy took the large bag of food quickly, cutting off the argument between the bear and the pig mid-sentence, shutting the door behind her, both giddy and nervous in excitement at the thought of her and Nick's first meal together as a couple. Her ears fell as she heard the arguing in the hallway stop, a knocking again on the door as she realized she had forgotten to pay. The doe opened the door again, chuckling nervously as both the delivery pig and officer were staring at her, wide eyed and shocked expressions on their faces.

Judy pulled out her wallet and tepidly handed the pig the bill, plus a large tip which seemed to mollify the animal. The mammal slowly nodding his head before waddling off. Hiberton stared at her quizzically before following the pig out, casting one glance back at the rabbit while shaking his head.

She quickly stepped back into the apartment, her smile coming back as she separated the items she had ordered and put them into two piles on the coffee table in the living room, figuring eating on the couch would be much more comfortable than the dining room table.

Plus, that would allow her to cuddle a bit with Nick after they ate, without needing to move while they both enjoyed their food comas, if he didn't mind of course.

Judy ended up ordering two tacos for her, and one larger burrito for Nick, hoping that the cricket chimichanga would be to his liking. She was about to head off to wake the fox, when she glanced at the lidded cup next to Nick's burrito. She paused, remembering what she ordered that was inside of the container.

Looking from the box, to Nick's door, then back to the box, she walked towards it, popping the lid open. A soft scent hit her nose, and again casting a quick look behind her, she unwrapped one of her tacos and quickly dumped half the contents of the cup inside before re-wrapping it nervously.

Judy gulped, then put on a bright smile as she decided to head for the vulpine's bedroom.

She knew they would get to know more about each other's likes and dislikes, but, the rabbit was sure Nick didn't need to know about  _that_  particular 'like' just yet...

The room was dark, and the fox was snoring peacefully as the door creaked opened, bathing the room slowly in light. A dark figure skirted through the opening, their paws barely making a sound as they crept towards the bed and the figure lying thereon. The vulpine showed no reaction to the silent entry as he mumbled something in his sleep, rolling over and allowing the now liquified ice pack to slide off his chest. The intruder smirked.

_This is going to be too easy_...Judy thought as she stifled a giggle.

The rabbit slowly raised her head over the side of the bed, her ears laid down behind her, smiling as she realized the russet furred animal hadn't noticed her yet.

Lowering herself back down, she ran around to the other side of the bed, poking her head above its side to make sure of her target. Nick's eyes were closed, a grin on his muzzle while his chest slowly rose and fell. Judy reached as far as she could across the bed, snatching an unused pillow.

Nick's tail twitched and Judy ducked back down behind the bed, the large pillow clutched between her tiny paws.

Judy took a quick, deep breath, letting a smile appear as her eyes twinkled.

What was the old rabbit saying about letting a sleeping fox lie? That it was better to let them rest than to experience a grouchy, sleepy fox?

Her stomach grumbled. With how hungry she was, she'd have to put that saying to the test. Judy turned to face the bed, grinning as she coiled the muscles in her legs, bending down in preparation for her attack. Within a second, the rabbit leapt up as high as she could, shouting loudly as she reached the apex of her jump, the pillow held high above her head like a sword ready to strike down her victim.

" _TIME FOR DINNER!"_

Nick's eyes shot open and in the faint light all her saw was a grey bunny descending towards him. He let loose a loud yelp as Judy landed next to him, a pillow suddenly smacking into his snout.

"Time to wake up and eat you lazy fox," the doe laughed, smacking him several more times with the pillow before holding it to her side, grinning wickedly, while Nick stared up at her, his eyes wide and ears laid back.

"Geez, Judy! Give a fox a heart attack, why don't you!" Nick panted, holding a paw over his chest. Nick laid his head back on the pillow, his chest rising and falling quickly. He chuckled softly as he snuck a peek at his partner, who was giggling next to him.

"Though you know the whole phrase about letting sleeping fox's lie, right?" Nick said, a slight smirk coming to his maw.

"Yep," Judy hummed, still smiling. "It's an old rabbit saying, of course."

"There's a reason for that being a  _rabbit saying_ , you know," Nick broke out his full blown smirk, his right paw creeping towards a pillow to his side. "Foxes are the natural enemy of bunnies, and  _bunnies_  shouldn't go around waking up foxes without knowing the  _consequences_ ," he stated loudly, grabbing the pillow and smacking Judy in the back of her head with it. Nick laughed as he sat up on top of the sheets as Judy recovered, both holding their pillows in front of them like swords.

Judy grinned, "Bring it  _Blueberries_."

"Oh, it's already been  _brought_ , Carrots."

Twenty minutes later, the pair left Nick's room, paw in paw, with Judy giggling profusely as Nick trudged along slightly behind her.

"What was that about  _consequences_  for not letting the sleeping fox rest, Nick? You aren't very good at pillow fights, are you," Judy stated, smirking at the fox.

"It's not my fault I didn't have 400 siblings to pillow fight with growing up," Nick grumbled.

"I only had 274 siblings, Nick. You know that," Judy replied, bumping him with her hip.

"Right, that's what I said," Nick stated, grinning down at her. "You've had years of training against 311 siblings."

Judy roller her eyes and elbowed Nick, causing the fox to chuckle, though also to rub at the now sore spot. The rabbit smiled at him before teasing some more. "Still, I think it is safe to say that I totally  _owned_  you in there."

The pair stopped in the hallway, grinning at each other as Nick piped up. "Oh, then I'll just need to learn how Bun Norris here learned how to hit that hard with something so soft."

"Again," Judy smirked. "Siblings."

"Well, since I don't have any of those I know about, I'll just have to take some of your pillows to practice with as recompense," Nick chimed in as he started for the dining room again, with Judy hopping after him. "You have enough for both of us so I'm sure you could spare a few."

Judy shook her head, "Nope, I'm not giving any of them up. I know you're out for revenge, and I need them to build a pillow fort!"

Nick smirked at her, one of his eyebrows arching as he slowly bent down until he was face level with the rabbit. "Well, I guess I'll just have to move in with you, then." His tail swished back and forth and Nick had to contain a snicker at how red Judy's ears went. The rabbit slugged his arm and he finally let out a bark of laughter, though he also started sniffing. "Is that food I smell? Did you order takeout for us, Carrots?"

"Did I order food for me and my fox? Yes, yes I did." Judy smacked Nick's arm lightly quickly after. "Though you aren't getting away with that comment, it's not funny, Nick!" Judy stated while folding her arms across her chest.

"It was a little," he chimed in, smirking at her. "Though I guess you're bed is already quite occupied with all those stuffed bunnies. Maybe I could recruit them as my bunny pillow fighting army..."

Judy nodded, "Won't happen, they're loyal only to me, and will fight off any invading foxes."

"You wound me, Carrots," Nick replied, placing a paw over his chest. "No room for a fox, and so soon…I feel...so, cold." Nick placed his other paw across his face, leaning back until he collapsed onto the couch. He reached a paw out to her, a slight smirk on his face while Judy simply rolled her eyes at his theatrics.

"I see a light…" Nick wheezed, drawing one paw in the air, pointing at some imaginary object in the distance. "I feel the end is near, I can't go on without my fair bunny. Only a kiss can save me now…"

Judy snickered, rolling her eyes as Nick stared hopefully up towards her. "Nice try, Slick, but no kisses for the thespian fox," she grinned at him while shaking her finger at him, "...this time. Though I give you a 'B' for effort."

Nick's head jerked towards her, his eyes springing open. "Only a 'B', Fluff?" He pushed himself up onto his paws as Judy snickered, grabbing at one of her tacos. "Could you do any better, Carrots?"

Judy rolled her eyes, taking a bite of her taco. She swallowed, preparing to respond when she started coughing, pounding her chest with her paw.

"Ha, ha, Carrots. Nice try, little bunny. I give you a 'C' for credible," Nick laughed, grabbing his own burrito as Judy continued pounding on her chest. He took a bite, glancing back over at the rabbit, who was now gasping, her ears folding behind her while her eyes began watering.

"I admit it, you're good, maybe a 'B+', but you're not fooling me," Nick replied, though with some hesitancy clouding his voice. Judy's coughing stopped as she grabbed at her throat, Nick now watching nervously. "Uh, Carrots?"

Nick nervousness turned to panic, when Judy's eyes rolled up behind her eyelids and she fell to her side on the couch, her paws laying limp at her side.  _"Carrots!"_

Nick bolted to her side, frantically trying to remember what to do to help a choking victim. He put one paw on top of her chest, lowering his ear over her mouth to hear if any air was still getting through. "Come on Judy, don't do this to me. This isn't funny anymore." He prepared to push down on her chest when he heard a giggle.

"Five times…"

Nick halted, his ear flicking as Judy's words echoed in them and her warm breath teasing his fur of his inner ear. He turned to look down at her, confusion in his eyes.

"Wh...what do you mean?"

Judy smiled lazily, "Five times I was the lead for school plays in high school."

Nick's mind wrapped itself around her words. His confusion slowly morphing into a smirk while he slowly shook his head. "Carrots, you really are a sly, crafty, little bunny."

"And you," Judy leaned forward, her eyes sparkling as she brushed her lips against Nick's, "Are my gullible, dumb, fox."

"Always," Nick replied with a smirk, as he leaned in towards her.

Their dinner was cold by the time they got back to it, but it wasn't anything a quick jolt in the microwave couldn't fix. Nick left his for too long in the machine though and burnt his tongue taking his first bite, much to Judy's bemusement, as he waved at his mouth with his paw while frantically searching the cupboards in the kitchen for a glass to fill with water. The fox eventually settled by just drinking straight from the tap to cool his beleaguered tongue.

After Judy's laughter died down, and Nick could actually feel his tongue again, the two mammals tore into their dinner; after cuddling right through lunch time, both mammals had appropriately massive appetites. The rabbit was pleased with her decision on where to order from, as the smell and taste of her tacos were sublime.

"You picked a good place, Carrots," Nick replied right after taking quite a large bite of his burrito. Unfortunately, it was a little too big, as his eyes were currently bigger than his mouth, and it took nearly a minute of gnawing the food before he managed to swallow. He glanced over at Judy, who was watching him with a disturbed look on her face.

"Uh…Carrots?"

_Was it the teeth?_ Nick thought, wondering why Judy was grimacing like she was. His paw subconsciously went to cover his mouth. He knew a lot of smaller prey were uncomfortable watching predators eat, given how their teeth had historically been used. That was one reason a lot of restaurants catered to either predators, or prey, or had separate eating areas to accommodate both. There were so many new circumstances to consider now that the two of them were dating. Nick had never really worried about how his normal predatory habits could affect Judy before. Had he been making her uncomfortable the whole time they had been partners, but just never noticed?

His train of thought was derailed at the corner of confusion and angst when Judy sighed and pointed at him.

"Nick, do I need to remind you about not chewing with your mouth open?"

Nick swallowed, taking in a breath of relief that it was only something as simple as chewing with his mouth open, rather than Judy being afraid of him, that had caused the bunny's grimace. The fox laughed, then pulled out his phone, checking it with a sly grin. "Yep, I called it. Less than 10 hours in and you're already starting to try and 'fix' me, Carrots." His eyes gleamed mischievously.

"Jerk." Judy rolled her eyes, then pushed her shoulder into his side, causing them both to chuckle.

"I know you love me…" Nick cooed, earning another light-hearted shove.

Judy took another bite of her taco, though with how stuffed it was, several bits of it fell to her plate below. Nick readied a comment about just how messy an eater the rabbit was herself, when his eye caught sight of something pink on her plate.

He noticed Judy look down at her place, ready to casually pick up the mess of items and put them back into her taco, when it seemed like she noticed what Nick was staring at. Her ears folded behind her head and her eyes went wide.

"Oh...um...how did  _that_  get there…?"

Nick glanced from the piece of food on her plate, to her taco, and then to her face, which was was turning quite flush at the moment.

"Carrots...have you gone predator on me?"

Judy stared at Nick, gulping nervously as she covered her plate with a napkin.

"I don't know what you mean," Judy finally replied after swallowing the bite she had taken, then quickly taking a sip of water.

Nick smirked, lifting up the napkin as Judy grimaced while still chugging her water. He pointed towards a small pinkish object sticking out of the scattering of lettuce, tomatoes, beans and rice on the plate. "Then how would you describe  _that_ , as I'm pretty sure that shrimp isn't considered a vegetable..."

Judy sputtered, coughing as she placed the glass of water back onto the table while pounding her chest with her paw until the coughing stopped. Nick's eyebrow only arched further as Judy nervously laughed.

"How did that get in there! It must have been a mistake, I can't believe I didn't notice this whole time!" She seemed horrified at the tiny shrimp sticking part-way out of her burrito, but Nick wasn't buying the tickets to her act. Judy glanced quickly from it, to Nick, then back to her food before nervously placing her taco on her plate.

Nick placed his own chimichanga down, leaning over the table to look more intently at Judy's incriminating food, a lazy smirk forming on his face. "So...are you going to clear out the rest of those  _mistakes_  from your dinner?" He added extra emphasis onto the last word, knowing full well what her reaction could be. Nick was enjoying Judy's nervousness immensely and felt this moment as appropriate payback for her destroying him in the pillow fight earlier.

Judy again gazed at her taco, then up at Nick, the insides of her ears growing an ever deepening shade of red. Nick began laughing.

"Oh my goodness!" Nick snickered as Judy placed her head in her paws, groaning loudly. He placed a paw around her shoulder, bringing her in close for a hug, surprising the rabbit. "That explains a lot about how predatory you were acting earlier. Who knew a bunny could be so... _savage_."

Judy remained silent as Nick watched her, noticing he saw the fur in her cheeks starting to turn color from the crimson blush beneath. "So, how long Fluff?"

Nick smiled as she whispered something inaudible under her breath. "Come now, Carrots. I may be dating a rabbit, but that doesn't mean I am one so you'll have to speak louder than that."

"Four months…"

The fox's smile grew, he remembered what happened back then. "You mean since our orders were mixed up over at Chez Cheese? That was the moment you went pred on me?"

Judy threw her paws in the air, slumping against the back of the couch. "I know, I'm a horrible bunny, right? I mean, what kind of rabbit eats…"

"Like a predator?" Nick supplied, smirking at her. She only groaned in reply, her ears falling forward to cover her face.

"I know it isn't natural," Judy said quietly, sadness creeping into her voice. "But...I can't help it. It was accidental at first but...they just taste so good!" She threw her paws up in the air before letting them cover her ears, adding an extra layer of fluff over her eyes to keep her from seeing her partner's reaction.

Nick leaned over and gently removed her paws from over her ears, then her ears from over her face. She was looking up at him, her large amethyst eyes wide in worry and guilt.

"Come here you," Nick finally said, re-wrapping his arm around her while pulling her against him. He let her lean against him for a minute before speaking again, his paw brushing up against her long ears. "If it helps, you aren't the first prey I've known who liked them."

Judy's eyes shot up to meet his emerald ones. "Really?" she softly managed to say. Nick nodded.

"I mean, it isn't  _that_  common," he noticed Judy's shoulders slump a little, "but, I've seen it enough to where I don't even notice it."

As if to help her understand him even more, Nick picked up his burrito with his free paw and passed it over to her. "Want a bite?"

It took nearly a minute of Judy staring at the burrito, glancing up at Nick before she slowing nodded. She took the food from his paws, eyeing it carefully before stealing another glance up at the fox.

"Don't judge me," she mouthed quietly, eyeing the burrito before stealing a bite.

It seemed as if their meal came with a show, given the comedy which followed it. Judy sneakily stole the extra cup of grilled shrimp she had ordered for Nick, causing the fox to chase her around the kitchen, living room, and even through their bedrooms to get them back as Judy popped them into her mouth, one by one.

The mad shrimp scramble had ended as Judy popped the last tiny pink morsel into her mouth, right as Nick lunged for the box in her paws. With her attention focused on the juicy tidbit about to land in her open mouth, Judy hadn't noticed the fox's frantic leap and the two collided, rolling across the carpeted living room floor. They rolled to a stop, Judy on top, straddling Nick as the two laughed.

"Pinned ya," Judy smirked, folding her paws across her chest while looking down victoriously over her fox. She leaned down and patted Nick's cheek, the fox chuckling while his eyelids dropped and a sly grin appeared on his face.

"Really?"

In one quick move, Nick arched his back and pushed his feet off the floor. The move caught Judy by surprise, as the rabbit quickly found herself flying up and over the fox while her legs were still around his waist. In an instant, the roles were reversed, with the fox now lording smugly over the rabbit.

"Now what were you saying, Carrots?"

Judy's wide eyes narrowed and a sly smile formed. As she still had her legs around Nick's waist, she jabbed her foot into his left side into a pressure point she had learned about at the police academy, not enough to hurt, but enough to get Nick to twist to his left. Judy knocked his left arm from under him, toppling the fox in that direction and just as quickly as Nick had found himself on top, he again found himself beneath her.

And that smug, lovely smile again on her face.

"Pinned you again," she proclaimed, enunciating each syllable separately.

"Only because I let you."

"Har har…"

The new couple were smiling, looking into each other's eyes as Nick's paw gently went up to Judy's face, cupping her chin before he leaned in and kissed her gently.

It only took that kiss before the last shrimp laying on the carpet was forgotten entirely by the two mammals, their focus completely on each other for the next hour.

"Nick?"

"Mmhmm?"

"What do you want to do now?"

Nick arched his eyebrow at the bunny standing in front of him as he lay on the couch. "What do you mean? I am doing something now."

Judy paced the carpet in front of him. "No, I mean, I just feel like I need to be doing something useful right now."

"You are going to be doing something useful if you keep pacing like that. If you keep pacing a hole in the carpet, you'll keep the carpeting business,  _in_ business, and that's something good, right?" Nick smiled.

Judy sent a quick glare his way before shaking her head. "You know what I mean, Nick. You know how I am with being in one place for too long."

"You mean like that time we were stuck in the cruiser on a stakeout for eight hours and you started rocking the cruiser with how much your foot was thumping?"

Judy smiled at the memory, but shook her paw at the fox. "Not the example I was going for, but yes, that is what I mean."

Nick turned his smirk into a frown, "Are you saying you've already grown bored of being with your lovable, foxy, boyfriend?" Nick asked.

"For how sad you're sounding, your tail sure seems to be speaking otherwise," Judy replied, pointing out his furry appendage, which was wagging behind him.

Nick glared at his tail, his ears going back. "Traitor."

Judy plopped down on the couch in the space in front of where Nick was sprawled, leaning down on her elbows and staring into his face while her feet kicked slowly behind her in the air. "Nick, tell me that you don't want to be out doing something as well. Sure it is nice being in here with you," she placed a paw on his own, "but, I didn't imagine the first day I'd spend in an actual relationship to be cooped up in an apartment the whole time."

"For a week," Nick added, his eyelids drooping slightly. "I understand, Carrots. But what choice do we have? Bogo isn't going to relent for us to go on a stroll around the block, or to visit your favorite ice cream stand like I would have liked to do with you." Nick turned off the tv and sighed, laying his paw over Judy's cheek, while rubbing it with his thumb.

Judy leaned into his paw, holding it with one of her own as her eyes gazed towards the couch cushion she was seated on. "I know. I just wish there was something else we could do? Maybe go downstairs and…"

Nick placed his paw across Judy's mouth, silencing her. The rabbit first looked shocked, then angry and Nick interjected as she pulled his paw down from her mouth. "Remember what Officer Clawington told us this afternoon?"

Judy's thoughts went back to the tiger and his midday visit to their apartment right after they finished with their showers. The tiger had informed Bogo of Nick and Judy's morning escapade downstairs, then handed them a phone, telling them that Bogo would like to speak with them.

The buffalo had informed them that on no conditions, were they allowed to leave their apartment until the case was settled and Nick was healed, emphasizing heavily on the, no-conditions part. It had crushed Judy, as that would mean no more trips to the pool downstairs, where she could have at least swam laps to entertain herself, and annoyed Nick, as he wouldn't be allowed to join her due to him having to stay away from strenuous activities. Not that she couldn't have joined him in the hot tub later...

Bogo also informed them that the guard would be moved  _directly_  outside their door, to prevent any such  _incidents_  from happening further. An annoyed Clawington had thus stationed himself in the hallway, pacing the length to prevent anyone who got that close from actually knowing which apartment they were in. Hiberton had followed the same pattern once he came on-shift, albeit staying further away from the apartment Judy was occupying, nothing to do with his previous interaction with the bunny at all.

Judy looked crestfallen as Nick noticed her nose twitching.

"Here, come on, stand up, Carrots." Judy was jostled on the couch as Nick roughly stood up, pulling at her arms to move the rabbit into a standing position. "I have an idea."

Judy obeyed and got to her feet as Nick jumped off the couch, walking around it towards the dining room.

"We may have a guard at our front door to prevent us from leaving out that way," Nick began, reaching the window in the dining room. "But that doesn't mean we can't use the window."

Judy shook her head, before gazing at the fox with an annoyed glare. "Nick, if you've suddenly forgotten, we're over eight stories up, and last time I checked, neither bunnies, nor foxes can fly."

"Foxes can fly," Nick countered, smirking at her. "Haven't you ever heard of a 'flying fox'?"

Judy groaned as Nick hopped on top of the stool and started fiddling with the window latch. "Nick, those aren't actual foxes, those are  _bats_. And bats, last time I checked, are a lot different than foxes. Now get down from there before you hurt yourself and I have to explain to Bogo why I had to prevent one of his officers, who is also my  _boyfriend_ , from taking a sudden interest in flying lessons."

"Always a first for everything, Fluff." Nick stated, grunting as he pushed the window up, letting a gust of fresh air into the apartment that caused his fur to slightly move in the breeze. His smirk widened as he pushed the window up the rest of the way, brushing his hands together as he looked out on the scene outside.

"I think I could get used to this view, Carrots," Nick said, placing his paws against his hips as he stood framed in the window, the sun just barely beginning to set. "You should come up here and see this."

"No, I'm not coming up there to stand on the windowsill with you, now come get down from there now." Judy crossed her arms across her chest, her foot beginning to the thump the ground and a steely glare focused on her partner.

"Just for a minute, Carrots?" Nick joked.

"Nick…"

"Would you do it for a Clawndike bar?"

"Tempting," Judy replied, though her eyes narrowed, "but not even for that, now get down here, you're starting to worry me."

"Please," the fox whined, holding out his paw.

"Nick, I don't think that is safe to…"

"Do you trust me?"

The question took Judy off guard as she looked up at the fox standing in the window. Nick's eyes were filled with kindness as he extended his paw further towards her, letting the other grab onto the side of the window.

"I…uh," Judy didn't know how to respond.

"Do you trust me?" he repeated, a little more pleading in his voice than before. "There's a whole new world and an amazing view up here; almost as good looking as a certain bunny I know."

Judy's ears began heating up and her heavy paw stomping slowed to a light patter. She stared up into his emerald eyes, wondering what the crazy fox was thinking, but decided to finally follow the beating in her chest and what her heart was telling her to do.

"Yes."

Judy extended her paw, clasping it within Nick's as the fox gently pulled her up to the window ledge and into his arms.

"See, that wasn't so bad," Nick replied, letting the rabbit settle in his arms. If she would have looked up, she would have seen the smirk on his face. "Now this next part on the other paw…"

Judy felt herself falling forward into Nick, or was it Nick that was falling backwards?

"Nick, what is going on?" She yelled as Nick began twisting and she noticed the edge of the windowsill going past her view, her eyes now looking at nothing but the outside of their apartment.

" _Niiiiicckkkkkkk you dumb fox_!" Judy screamed as they tumbled out the window, Nick still holding onto her though she was trying to free her arms to catch hold of anything as they fell out the window. She covered her eyes with her paws as they twisted more in the air.

' _Thump'_

Judy felt her fall suddenly come to a stop only a few seconds after it began, as well as Nick's hold on her loosen. She frantically grabbed for him, thinking that if he let go, she would fall again, but found her paws touching...metal?"

Judy finally opened her eyes slowly, noticing the metal grating beneath her feet, as well as the metal railing surrounding them. She glanced around her quickly, looking in all directions before her wide eyes focused on Nick.

Who was smirking widely, one ear sideways while the other stood at attention.

"It's called a hustle, sweetheart," Nick laughed as he began walking up the fire escape. "Come on, Carrots, I've got something I think you'd like to see."

Judy's fear was replaced by anger and not a small amount of embarrassment as she ran after Nick, jumping onto the fox's back, sending him toppling forward onto the rough metal causeway. He flipped over, just as Judy grabbed his shirt collar and shook him several times.

"Don't you ever do anything like that again, you stupid, dumb fox!" She glared at him, tears threatening the corners of her eyes, before she quickly leaned down and kissed him roughly.

"You got over that quick," Nick replied hesitantly as Judy pulled away, letting go of his collar and pushed herself off the fox.

"I'm still mad at you," she shot back, folding her arms across her chest while thumping her foot angrily against the iron grating, causing the metal to shake slightly. "Now why did you just take me and jump out of our apartment window and onto...this?"

Nick pushed himself up, dusting off his pants and shirt with his paws before pointing to a metal ladder behind him. "Since you asked so politely, Carrots, this, is the fire escape ladder that every apartment complex is required to have in Zootopia. All we got to do is climb up this, waltz our way up to the roof, and  _there_  will be your surprise."

Nick grinned at Judy, who was still glaring at him, though the ends of her frown were slowly creeping into a smile. He snapped his fingers, gently pushing past Judy back towards the window. "I almost forgot something, wait here." Judy looked around then sent a glare towards Nick as the fox jumped up to the windowsill, grunting as he grabbed the ledge and pulled himself up and over it, disappearing back into the apartment.

For nearly a minute Judy waited next to the escape ladder, her foot thumping in anxiety and annoyance, when she heard movement from the other side of the open window.

"Catch!" Nick yelled, before a large blanket flew out the window.

Judy jumped forward, managing to snag the blanket as it just caught the wind and began pulling her across the metal grating. Nick hopped down next to her and grabbed the blanket as well, and with both of them holding on, managed to bring the fluttering fabric under control. The fox folded it up, smiling the entire time as Judy continued to glare at him.

"Alright, ladies and rabbits first?" Nick stated as he pointed towards the ladder.

Judy let out a low growl, walking past him while heading towards the ladder. "I'm  _still_  mad at you."

Nick laughed as he walked after Judy, starting up the ladder after her.

"You still mad at me, Carrots?"

"..."

"I take that as a no?"

"..."

"Come on, won't you say something to your foxy boyfriend?"

"...Shut up and watch this with me."

"That's the spirit!" Nick laughed as Judy's paws worked their way around his waist and she snuggled into his side.

Judy pulled on the edge of the blanket wrapped around them, glad that Nick had brought it with them. Even though it was nearing the end of summer, the nights had become quite cool, and with how high up they were, at least twenty or so stories, the chill the air brought with it all the way from Tundratown could cause any mammal to shiver.

The pair were sitting on the roof of their apartment complex, watching the sunset as the orange and red hues slowly were replaced by purples and blues, the sun completing its descent on another day.

A beautiful ending to a beautiful day, in Judy's opinion.

Judy snuggled deeper into Nick's side, feeling the warmth coming from him. Everything about today had been so new to her. As she stood on the roof, streetlamps flickered to life far below her, she couldn't help but feel elated on how the day had gone.

She put a paw to her chest, feeling the steady beating of her heart while her gaze moved to Nick. She thought that her nervousness around him would dissipate, once their feelings towards each other were revealed, yet, some of that hesitancy remained.

Could it have been as this was her first true relationship? Yes, yes it could.

Maybe it could also be due to the fact that she was suddenly unsure of  _how_  to act in a relationship, now that she was in one, mostly wondering if she was being too clingy towards him?

Possibly…

She shelved those thoughts, shaking them from her mind as she tried to simply focus on the moment, wanting to spend it completely with Nick and not on her worries and fears for the future.

She could handle them when they came up, she always did and always could. She knew they could make it through any awkwardness life would throw at them...as long as they did it together.

Nick must have caught her staring at him and his gaze turned from the sunset which had now long gone, to the rabbit at his side.

They said nothing for a while, just looking into one another's eyes. Nick finally broke the gaze, looking into the night sky above towards the few flickering stars he could see. Slowly, he leaned backwards until he was resting on his back, with Judy following suit shortly after, snuggling into his side while her right paw drew lazy hearts on his chest. Nick gently leaned over, leaving a tender kiss between Judy's ears, content upon hearing her cooing softly and snuggling deeper into his chest.

"Did you watch the sunsets a lot, back in Bunnyburrow?"

He felt Judy nodding her head against him, and could picture the bunny smiling.

"All the time," she replied sleepily, her paw tracing figures across Nick's shirt. "It's even better without any buildings to break up the horizon. It's like the whole sky is lit up as far as you can see. Though, that isn't the best part of a clear sky in Bunnyburrow."

"It isn't?" Nick asked, moving his head so he could see Judy more fully.

She shook her head. "The sunsets are dazzling, but when the stars come out...that's when the show  _really_  begins."

The two stared above them as the sunset red sky deepened into a dark black. Several minutes passed in silence before stars began flickering to life above them.

"What's it like?" Nick stated wistfully, finally breaking the silence.

"Hmm?" Judy replied, her paw stopping its motion across his chest, looking up at him with curious eyes.

"Up there," Nick pointed, looking towards a blinking star nearly straight above them. "What's this like where you grew up? You said that's when the show really begins, but what's different? I know the stars don't change, so..."

Judy couldn't help but stifle a giggle. "You really are a city fox, aren't you," she replied.

"Born and raised," Nick shot back quickly with a smirk. He gave her a wink, which only caused them both to laugh. Judy moved from his side, and placed a quick kiss on his cheek.

"And I love you anyway,  _Blueberries_." Nick 'hmm'ed' at the nickname, squeezing Judy more tightly into his side. The rabbit looked back up into the night sky as she pulled the blanket tighter around them. "Yes, they are the same stars, but, you can see a lot more of them without the city lights around."

She could feel Nick turning to look at her, and noticed his inquisitive expression.

"How many more?" Nick asked, his gaze returning to the couple dozen stars above them.

"Enough that you could never count them all," Judy replied wistfully. "There were just so many, and on a clear night sky, sometimes I'd just head out to the nearest hill, sit next to the oak tree there and simply watch the sky for hours...or until Mom or Dad finally noticed I was missing and called me in."

Judy sighed heavily, "Somedays, I wish I could just be back there to enjoy it, for even one day. I love it here, don't get me wrong," Judy added quickly, laughing lightly. "But there just isn't anything quite like a summer's night out on the farm."

That brought a chuckle from Nick. "Really?" Nick replied, shifting his glance from the sky, to her, then back to sky. He imagined what it must be like, to look up into the sky and see nothing but countless glittering lights. "I imagine it must be beautiful."

Judy nodded beside him. "It is. Maybe you could come and see them one day."

Nick turned onto his side, facing the rabbit, a smirk on his face. "I wasn't talking about the stars being beautiful. I was talking about seeing you on that hill, under the pristine night sky, would be beautiful." His paw cusped itself under her chin, and he could feel the smile forming above it.

"Sly fox," Judy whispered, bringing her own paw up to Nick's cheek as she drew closer to him.

"Beautiful bunny," Nick whispered back as he closed the final distance between them. They shared a tender kiss, separating only by a whisper as they stared into each other's eyes.

Nick tilted his head slightly and quirked an eyebrow at Judy as he glanced upwards, before leaning forward again to nuzzle her cheek. "So," he whispered,his warm breath tickling her ear, "if this sly fox wanted to whisk his beautiful bunny away for a romantic evening of stargazing sometime…?

Judy's smile was radiant, twinkling stars reflecting in her eyes.

"I think I'd like that," she replied, closing the distance between their lips once more.

 


	20. We've Got to Get Out of this Place...

 

Judy's eyes shot open, a bright grin already etched onto her face as she sprung out of bed, dashing over to her alarm clock right as the machine began to chime. She tapped it lightly, her smile turning more smug as she mentally noted her own biological clock had beaten her mechanical one, again.

She bounced towards her suitcase, which had still not been unpacked, staring at the messy heap of clothing, her foot thumping against the carpet as she scratched at her chin.

"This won't do…" she muttered, before glancing at the closet. "I can't wear a wrinkled uniform to work. There's still officers who don't think I belong on the force, can't give them another reason to think I'm not up to the job."

A flurry of movement and the occasional excited hop later, Judy placed her paws on her hips, smiling in satisfaction at the neat row of clothes hanging in the closet. Well, neat- _ish_. Sure they weren't ironed, but they were pressed enough to where most wouldn't notice the tiny wrinkles in them. After work, she could iron them out to her satisfaction.

Letting out an excited 'hmm', Judy latched her empty suitcase shut before sliding it into the bottom of the closet. She began thumbing through her uniforms, hoping to find one that was closest to being wrinkle-free, before placing it gently onto the bed, rubbing a few overtly wrinkled spots smooth with her paws and a frustrated huff, before her smile returned.

_Today is going to be an amazing day! Not that the days with Nick weren't good before, but now, we're going to go and make the world a better place...together._

_Together_. That last word filled her with excitement as she began getting out of her pajamas, though she paused, just as she in the middle of slipping into the specially-ordered and rabbit-sized blue undershirt of her usual street patrol wear.

Her ears wilted and her chipper grin was suddenly lost to the crushing weight of her sudden realization.

Judy Hopps, only rabbit officer of the ZPD, city hero, solver of the Night Howlers case, and possible future detective...was on  _administrative leave,_ and was  _stuck_ in this apartment, which wasn't even hers or Nick's,  _for a week._

Her paw dropped, but, ever the optimist, the rabbit began purusing through the section of her clothes for off-duty use, trying to find something that would catch Nick's attention, something that would be great to be seen wearing in public with her fox. She imagined walking paw in paw with him down the street as she found herself eyeing a cream colored blouse.

Judy again paused, her paw outstretched towards the article of clothing, before she dropped her paw again in frustration.

_What use is a nice outfit if I'm just stuck in here with Nick all day?_

Irritation was gnawing at Judy with her inability to leave this place. Even though ten of her actual apartments could probably fit into this one, it was becoming more cramped and claustrophobic than Pangolin Arms had ever felt.

She eyed the rest of her wardrobe, sighing as she finally eyed something comfortable, grabbing a pair of grey sweatpants and a loose, white t-shirt.

Judy threw the shirt over her head, casually glancing at her outfit with a little bit of gloominess, but quickly threw that attitude away, replacing it with a smile.

"Today is a new day," she said to herself. "One where we'll rest, relax, and recover, so in a week we can be ready for work.  _Completely_ healed this time."

With her impromptu pep talk finished, she was out her door, fumbling slightly in the darkness until she found the light switch in the hallway, turning them on and heading down the few paces to Nick's room, a cheerful smile on her face. Before she even finished turning the doorknob to Nick's room, she stopped, her ears picking up the soft sound of snoring from beyond the door.

_I shouldn't wake him..._ she thought, her paw on the knob, listening to the soft rumblings from within.  _He needs to recover much more than I do...he's basically been a living, breathing punching bag these past few weeks._

Judy thought back to the other night, and just how much effort it had taken to help Nick back to the impound lot after their unsuccessful chase of the arsonist. At first, Nick had rested nearly all his weight on the rabbit, nearly doubling her over at the strain of walking in the drifting snow covering the sidewalks that late at night. Nick had managed to walk by himself after a bit, but with the slight hisses of pain he gave every few steps, it was more likely that he just didn't want Judy to feel like he was simply dead-weight to be carried around.

_He needs his rest_...Judy thought, her paw falling from the doorknob as her gaze dropped to the floor. She wanted to see him, to rekindle those feelings they felt yesterday, and to see what new memories they could make today. But she couldn't bring herself to wake the fox, as she still felt slightly responsible for his injuries, given her thoughtlessness of his condition.

Nick needed the sleep to recover. It wouldn't do either of them any good if he didn't give his body time to mend and for that, he needed sleep. Something that, if Judy bothered him now, this early in the morning after the late night they had, he would not be getting an adequate amount of.

Judy turned to leave, walking back down the hallway when  _another_  thought passed through her mind.

_You're a bunny, ergo, you're quiet. And you're walking on carpet. He won't even hear you come in. Just sneak a peek and make sure he's doing well. He's your boyfriend, so I'm sure even if he did wake up, he wouldn't mind waking up to see his girlfriend's face_.

"I can't just walk in on him," Judy said aloud, before clamping a paw over her mouth. She bounded back to the door, her ear placed against the wood, listening for any rustling from the fox to see if Nick had heard her. After several seconds, she let out the breath she was holding.

With the new thought now playing through her mind, Judy held one arm with her paw, leaving her other paw to rub the bridge of her nose.

_It wouldn't be right for me to just waltz in there, even if he did want to wake up to me. What...what if he...isn't decent?_

Judy felt a blush rush into her ears as she tried to shake the mental image of Nick, sprawled over his bed without…

"Stop it, Judy!" she whispered, trying to shut out the image that had now snuck into her mind. Her other paw twisted as she shook her head, and a slight 'click' could be heard as Nick's door opened slightly. She froze at the sound, her paw holding the knob dropping suddenly as her ears shot straight up. The door swung open a little ways, allowing the tiny stream of light to enter, crossing the floor and onto the foot of Nick's bed. Judy gasped, realizing she had forgotten to turn off the hallway light and quickly raced to the switch, flicking it off, bathing the apartment once again in darkness.

The rabbit poked her head around the door nervously, hoping the light hadn't awoken her partner. Nick had an extra sensitivity to it, a trait that most Zootopian foxes seemed to share. Judy supposed that nocturnal mammals who lived in the country, and thus worked outdoors, tended to get over that, whereas city-dwellers, who had the option of staying indoors during the day, or adjusting their hours, didn't worry about adapting. Just one of the many things she'd never thought of, back in Bunnyburrow, but was now second nature to her.

It was one reason, she found out, why Nick always carried his sunglasses with him. Being a fox meant having a sensitivity to light that was the same to him as the sensitivity to noise was for her as a rabbit. Sure, they had adapted, Nick worked days with her outside, thanks to his trusty shades, and Judy rather considered herself an expert on blocking out the noise of the city, but some basic functions of biology would never change.

Judy let out another held breath as she saw that Nick was still asleep, the slight creak in the door's hinges, and her own less-than-silent loitering in the hallway  _hadn't_  woken him in his otherwise quiet room. Her eyes travelled to his sleeping form, though she blushed as she saw his blankets had been kicked off, leaving him exposed, in his boxers, for her to see. She didn't know why she suddenly felt like a teenage doe again, her heart beating faster as her ears heated up. Maybe it was the dopey smile on Nick's face as he slept, or the way his ears twitched every now and then. Or his tail, seeming to have a mind of its own as it twitched here and there while he slept.

_It looks so fluffy. Maybe I could...touch it?_

Judy blinked, her ears shooting up straight as she felt a large amount of heat working its way within them.

Was she really thinking of stroking Nick's tail without asking him first? That seemed awfully presumptuous.  _And what if a fox's tail is like a rabbit's ears,_ she thought. In that case...

The bunny shivered, retreating from the room and shutting the door quietly behind her, making sure it didn't make a sound as it closed. She'd have to ask Nick about his tail later when he was awake. Judy placed her paw over her still fast beating heart, before berating herself for being such a insensitive bunny.

"Nick needs his rest," Judy told herself as she walked down the hall towards the kitchen. "He needs his sleep to recover from his injuries and unless we both want to be stuck here for another week, I need to leave him be. And I  _really_  shouldn't be thinking about his tail right now…"

Inwardly, she felt her heartbeat increase as her mind created images of Nick rolling his tail around her, enveloping her in a softness that...

Judy dispelled the sudden urge to race back to the fox's room and wrap herself in his tail, whether it was appropriate to or not.

_Ok, I REALLY don't need to be thinking about his tail right now._

Judy shook her head as she reached the dining room, hopping onto a barstool, staring around the apartment as she slowly drummed her paws on the tabletop. Out the window, the darkness of the night was slowly being replaced as the sun just began to creep up in the far eastern corner of the sky.

Judy sighed.

"Now what to do until he wakes up…"

* * *

 

' _Darling, we're stuck here, forever…"_

*click*

' _I've got cabin fever it's driving me insane.'_

***** click*

' _...and it comes in a box…'_

*click*

' _Feeling weighed down, boxed in by…'_

*CLICK*

Nick tossed the remote onto the coffee table in front of the couch, growling at the television for having nothing on. He'd gone through the channels multiple times now and found absolutely nothing on.

_For Maid Marian's sake, you'd think something would be on with 200 channels..._ Nick thought, drawing a paw across his eyes. He pulled his paw away, then looked across the couch at Judy, who had her body draped across the armrest, looking above at the ceiling above her, whispering to herself.

" _2,780...2,781...2,782…"_

"You're still counting, Carrots?"

Judy stopped, turning her head to face Nick, who was staring at her with an amused smile.

"Doing what?" Judy asked, as she rolled her body off the armrest and into a sitting position next to it.

"Counting…" Nick drawled, letting out a yawn.

"How do you know I was counting?"

"You were counting out loud."

"I was not," Judy stated, putting her paws on her hips while sitting cross-legged on the couch.

"I assume you started off in your head, but by the time you hit around 300, you started counting out loud."

Judy blushed as she realized she  _had_  in fact been counting aloud for a while. Nick chuckled, then smirked at her. "For a while, I thought you were trying to count how many kisses you wanted us to have today, since we both seemed to be bored." He winked at her as her ears fell.

" _Nick!"_  She shouted. Judy reached behind her, grabbed a pillow, and started beating the fox with it as he laughed. "I was not," Nick tried taking the pillow from her but failed, "..counting," Nick caught the pillow as it nailed him in the side of his head, "...how many," Nick finally managed to grab the pillow and throw it over the couch, only for Judy to grab another and renew the beating. "...kisses I want with you!"

She stood over the fox, breathing heavily, before whacking him one more time for good measure. "And I am  _not_  bored...just…"

Nick grabbed the new pillow and threw it over the couch to join the other cushion, no longer laughing but a glimmer in his emerald eyes.

"Alright, alright, Carrots, I _believe_  ya." Nick laughed and sat up a bit, becoming eye level with the furious little bunny. "Besides, counting kisses would be an  _incredibly dumb idea._  A waste of mind power when you could be focusing on the actual kiss."

Judy rolled her eyes and hopped off the couch just as the fox leaned in for a kiss, causing the fox to fumble forward, catching himself on his front paws. "Just for that, Nicholas Wilde, I'm getting the ice pack out again."

The rabbit turned and smirked at the sight of Nick's ears falling and a whimper escaping his maw. "Not that again, Carrots. I just had that on yesterday…" the fox drawled, hanging his head over the side of the armrest. With how the couch was positioned, he was able to see Judy's tail sticking out from the inside of the freezer. It brought him a small smirk before she turned back around, and Nick quickly turned his head, staring instead at the ceiling.

Nick began counting the dots on the ceiling, hoping that the monotony of it would lead him to forget about the ice pack that was just about to be placed on his stomach.

It didn't help, and the fox yipped, then sucked in a deep breath as Judy pulled up his shirt and placed it underneath and directly onto his fur.

The rabbit laughed then set the timer on her watch for 20 minutes as the fox leaned back into the couch, his gaze resting again on the dots on the ceiling. He made it to somewhere around 145 before losing count and starting over.

"How did you manage to get into the thousands, Carrots?" Nick asked, pointing at each dot on the ceiling to see if that would help him break past two hundred.

Judy giggled, "Well, remember last night and how I said how many stars you could see out in Bunnyburrow? I used to sit out at night and count them when I was bored and couldn't sleep."

"I thought you said you weren't bored," Nick stated, smirking at the rabbit, dropping his gaze to meet hers. He chuckled seeing her roll her eyes, then smile back at him. Nick looked back towards the ceiling and…

"Drat, lost count again!" Nick shouted, rubbing his eyes with his paw.

"You'd be terrible counting stars, I think," Judy laughed, though sighed heavily as she leaned back into the couch, a sudden sad expression on her face.

* * *

It had been another several hours of them laying on the couch, both bored of the daytime shows, and Judy pacing a path in the carpet as she walked from the couch, to the fridge, and back, several times. Only after Nick pointed out that the fridge didn't magically create food, did the rabbit head towards the dining room and set a stool up against the window. She wound up sitting there for nearly an hour, staring out the window until her ears went from straight up to laying against the back of her head.

"I wish I was back in Bunnyburrow…"

The comment took Nick off guard, and he quickly got off the couch to walk towards her. "I thought you liked it here, Carrots?"

"I do," Judy replied, her cheek resting in her paw, leaning her elbow against the windowsill. "It's just that, at least there'd be things to do there."

Nick walked up behind her, placing his paws on her shoulders, feeling how tense the rabbit was, and began massaging them gently. He felt Judy relax under the massage, letting out a contented hum.

"I wish you could see my home, Nick."

Nick looked at the rabbit.  _His_  rabbit. With her sitting on the stool, she was only a few inches shorter than him. He sighed heavily, stopping his massage as he moved his arms from her shoulders to wrapping them around his bunny's waist. Judy leaned back into him, her head rolling back until she was looking up into his eyes.

If anything, Nick could tell that Judy was frustrated. She just gave off certain signs whenever she was annoyed or bored, and right now all the fox's alarm bells were dinging. An idea came to mind, and Nick smiled.

"How about tomorrow?" Nick asked, still looking up at the ceiling.

"Huh?" Judy asked, her expression changing to one of confusion.

"What if we went to visit your home tomorrow?"

Judy waved him off with a giggle. "Looks like someone is the new dreamer in this relationship."

Nick stood to his full height, while turning Judy around on the stool, then lowered himself to stare directly into her eyes while placing a paw on her shoulder.

"No seriously, Judy. How about tomorrow?" Nick had such a serious expression on his face that Judy knew he wasn't joking. Her breath caught in her throat.

"Nick...as much as I'd love to just," she tossed her paws to her sides towards the room around her, "pack my bags and leave this place to show you my home, we...we can't."

"Why can't we go? We're on leave, remember? No work for a week."

Judy scoffed, lowering her head, now glancing at the coffee table. "You mean,  _who_  won't let us go…"

Nick sighed heavily, interpreting Judy's thoughts instantly as he stood up and shook his head. "Bogo."

"Bogo," Judy repeated, letting her annoyance at the buffalo's insistence on their house arrest settle between them.

"How would we convince him to let us go to Bunnyburrow?" Judy asked, not really to anyone but herself as she leaned her head into Nick's chest, placing her paws there as well. "He was fairly clear that we weren't to leave our room yesterday."

Judy sighed again, as the realization that they might be stuck in the apartment building for an entire week sank in. They had no real food, as they hadn't shopped before being today, so they'd have to live off take out for a week.

She cringed. Fast food may not be as bad as the ' _Carrots for One'_  meals she had lived off of while Nick was at the academy, though Nick had allowed her to use his apartment's small kitchen to make meals for herself when he had graduated and joined the force, serving as her partner in Precinct 1.

"I think I have a solution."

Judy looked up to see Nick, who seemed deep in thought, though by how his tail was wagging behind him, he was planning  _something._

"Chief told us that we had to stay at the safehouse, right?"

Judy nodded. "Yes, he told us we had to stay at the safehouse, Nick. What are you getting at?"

"Well, in order for it to be a safehouse, it would have to be  _safe_ , right?"

"That's kind of in the definition, Nick. Safehouse. A house that is safe, with no space in the middle."

"Right, right," Nick smiled at Judy. "So what would happen if we proved that the safehouse, isn't so safe?"

Judy stared at Nick, arching an eyebrow. "Wherever you are going with this, it's probably a dumb idea."

Nick placed a paw over his chest. "Carrots, when have I ever had a dumb idea?"

Judy was about to open her mouth, pausing to decide if she should list Nick's history of remarkably unintelligent ideas chronologically, or in order of stupidity, when when he waved his paw at her.

"Nevermind, forgot I said that. Just hear me out on this, Carrots. If we can prove that we'd be safer in Bunnyburrow than the safehouse, Bogo would have to let us leave."

She placed a paw to her chin. "I can see your point, Nick, but, wouldn't it just be easier to talk to him and lay out why it would be best to leave?"

"Have we ever been able to convince the Chief, once his opinion has been settled on something?

"Well, he is a lot nicer to you, compared to when he first met you."

Nick gave Judy a rather blank look. "You mean, he doesn't look ready to arrest me on the spot, now that I'm working for him? Hardly a ringing endorsement there, Carrots. Got any better examples?"

Her ears fell, "Not really," Judy replied, validating Nick's argument.

"And  _that_  is why we need a plan that would  _convince_  him, with hard evidence."

Judy stared down at the floor, her chin resting on her paw. "So, we should treat convincing Bogo as a case, and need the evidence to prove our theory."

"Right in one, Fluff." Nick reached around the rabbit and pulled her into a one armed hug, sending his other paw ruffling through her ears.

"Hey!" Judy yelled, swatting the offending paw away, though she was grinning herself. Judy pushed herself out of the fox's embrace, hesitantly though, as he  _did_ feel quite good to snuggle up against, and began scanning the room for anything they could use to convince the chief to let them leave.

"So, if I were a perp, how would I plan to infiltrate this place to get at us…" Her gaze caught the window.

_This is going to be almost too easy..._ Judy thought, as she cast a sideways glance at Nick, who she caught looking at the same window with a wide smirk. He gaze switched onto her, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

"The fire escape," both said at once.

They paused, both realizing they had said the same thing at once, allowing a quietness to settle over their apartment.

"Did we really just do that?" Nick finally asked, looking down at Judy, who shook her head and giggled.

"Yes, yes we did," the rabbit replied, walking over to Nick and hugging him around his waist. She snuggled her head into his chest, then gazed up at his smirking face.

"You know, most couples don't get to that stage of adorableness in their first week, Carrots."

Judy gripped the fox tighter and snuggled deeper into his chest. "Well then, I guess we're just a few years ahead of the game, then."

Nick chuckled, then leaned down and kissed Judy between her ears while returning her embrace. "You know, now that we have a plan, I think I need to rest my mind for a bit to keep it sharp. I know a couch that is calling my name." He faked a yawn before picking Judy up and walking her over to the sofa, the rabbit giggling and adjusting her hold on him to around his neck.

"Feeling tired, Officer?"

Judy nodded, gazing directly into his eyes. "Though, to get a good nap, I think I'd need some sort of fluffy animal to snuggle with."

Nick grinned, "That can be arranged."

* * *

Officer Rhinowitz was bored. At first, he thought the assignment to guard Nick and Judy's flat would be interesting. They had a murderer after them, and that was bound to cause something to happen, right?

What happened was the least of all the situations the rhino expected. He was standing in the lobby, one eye on the elevator when he heard the doors to the apartment complex open across from him. He turned to look, then had to do a double take when he saw a certain fox and rabbit strolling into the building.

"Officer Hopps? Wilde? How...how did you…?

The rhino stared at the two mammals in shock, while they had the most devious smirks on their faces.

_I'm so getting chewed out for this._

* * *

Nick's idea had worked better than either of them had expected. When the pair had sauntered into the apartment building through the front door, waving politely at Officer Rhinowitz, the rhino was too stunned to know what to do. He ended up staring at them, a most dumbfounded expression on his face, before shaking himself free of his stupor, finally asking them how they'd gotten past him in the first place. He radioed Officer Pennington, a rookie stallion that just was moved into Precinct 1 a few weeks earlier, asking if the horse had seen them leave their room. The rhino's confusion only increased when Pennington answered with a, 'nay', they hadn't left their room at all.

Nick proceeded to tell the rhino that if he would escort them to Chief Bogo, they would tell the Chief how they managed to leave, but only the Chief. Finally the rhino agreed, calling in another pair of officers to drive them to the stationhouse.

In the end, it only took an hour and thirty two minutes of both Nick and Judy's tag-team explanations, hammering at how it would be better for everyone if the pair went to Bunnyburrow, instead of staying at the safe house, before the Chief cracked. Whether he agreed with them, or just decided the headache of trying to argue with them wasn't worth it, was anyone's guess.

At first, Bogo told them no, more annoyed at them for somehow magically disappearing under two of his officers' snouts, than really listening to them.

Judy then tried pleading with Bogo…letting him know that being inside for so long was driving her mad and she needed to do something.

Again, he told them no, and that, quote, "You having cabin fever is Officer Wilde's problem, not mine."

Nick had then tried to reason with the water buffalo, showing how it would be safer for them to be in Bunnyburrow, which was 211 miles away from Zootopia, their case, any anybody involved.

Bogo seemed to have considered it but, again, ordered them back to the safe house with specific instructions to stay out of his fur for the next week, or until they were cleared to return to work by Dr Lutrinae.

It was then that Nick, seeing Judy was more than frustrated and about to let the buffalo know  _exactly_  what her thoughts were on the his stubbornness , intervened and calmly explained that, if it was so easy for them to escape the apartment unnoticed, then it would be just as easy for the mammal that was after them to break in undetected. And it wouldn't do the ZPD  _any_  good for the first two officers of the Mammal Inclusion Initiative to be hurt by an assailant, all while under police protection, when it all could have been easily avoided by allowing previously mentioned officers a nice, quiet, under the radar trip to Bunnyburrow. Safe officers, content Judy, no unnecessary PR nightmare that would follow such a scenario, everybody wins.

Bogo had given Nick a glare so incendiary, that by the time the fox was finished explaining "the possibilities of danger in the safehouse", Judy was sure Nick would burst into flames any second. To her amazement, Bogo had let out a long snort, then actually agreed with Nick's idea, though with his own conditions.

The first condition was that Dr Lutrinae would make a trip to the Burrows at the end of the week to monitor Nick and Judy's recovery, and would be the deciding factor in if they were well enough to return, as well as be put back on the case. If the good doctor considered them sufficiently recovered, Bogo would allow the pair to report back to work on  _limited_  duty, working either at a desk, or with Fangmeyer and Delgato, until they were cleared for full duty. That clearance would only come after going through regular PT and rehabilitation, scheduled and supervised by Ursula, with missed appointments being  _severely_  discouraged.

If there  _weren't_  ready by the time Lutrinae came in a week, Bogo had warned them that the doctor would leave them in Bunnyburrow, and wouldn't come back for another week to check up on them again.

The thought of being away from the case for two weeks if they didn't pass the doctor's examinations, which Bogo had stressed would be "as thorough as possible", initially frightened Judy. Though the fear of how monotonous a week stuck in the same place with Nick, even with them being in a relationship, and after a few days she was sure they'd both go stir-crazy overshadowed her fear of being out of the loop for two weeks.

Both Nick and Judy had looked to each other, grasped each other's paws, (unnoticed by Bogo), then looked back to buffalo and nodded their agreement to the deal.

Bogo had grunted his approval, then let them know that he would get in contact with Detectives Fangmeyer and Delgato, to make sure the two officers would know Judy and Nick's location in case they needed to contact them, for follow-up case details or in the event of an emergency.

Only after leaving the buffalo's office, did Judy feel safe enough to grin, letting out a delighted squeal while jumping up to hug Nick around his neck. Nick stumbled backwards, spinning with the rabbit around his neck, soon enough joining in her merriment with his own laughter. They stopped spinning after several seconds as Nick placed his paws underneath Judy's bent knees, holding her up in a sort of reverse-piggyback with her paws still around her neck.

"Looks like we get to go see those stars after all, Judy."

"It appears so,  _clever fox_ ," Judy added, her eyelids lowering slightly as she leaned up to peck Nick's cheek.

"O M Goodness! Squeee!"

Several things happened all at once. Judy's ears shot up in alarm while Nick's tail bristled to its full length behind him. Both rabbit and fox both released their paws at the same time, causing Nick to stumble backwards while Judy landed awkwardly. It wasn't clear who was more shocked, the rabbit, the fox, or the hefty cheetah staring at them, his donut forgotten and now rolling across the floor.

"Claw...Clawhauser...I," Judy mumbled nervously, as Nick recovered from his shock and steadied her, though nervously backed a step away from her as the cheetah's smile curled into a even wider grin.

"Awwwwwwwww…"

Judy's paws frantically reached out to the cheetah, "Please don't, Clawhauser!" she hissed, her eyes pleading with the cheetah. "Keep your voice  _down_!"

The large cheetah cut his 'aww' short at the bunny's comment, clasping his paws over his mouth. "Sorry, I just saw the two of you and...awwwwwwwww!"

"What did I just say?!" Judy said, her eyes narrowing harshly and some ice in her voice. Apparently the 'cuteness' of the moment had sent the cheetah into another aww'ing fit.

Again, the cheetah blushed, his tail curling around his legs and went silent...only because he shoved his paw into his mouth

By this point, Judy's ears were a bright red and her cheeks weren't far behind. She looked over at Nick, and cursed the fox's luck to have been born with russet tinged fur. She turned back to the cheetah, who still had his paw in his mouth, but seemed to be settling down a bit.

"Clawhauser, if you aren't going to attract the attention of the entire station, you can take your paw from your mouth," Nick said glibly, recovering some of his slyness after being caught red-pawed nearly kissing Judy.

The cheetah relaxed with a sigh as he pulled his paw from his mouth and wiped it on his pants, giggling nervously as Judy looked at the action with a slight bit of distaste.

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself," the pudgy animal stated, though his grin remained. "So...how long have you two cuties been going out?"

Nick noticed Judy grimacing at the 'c' word, and answered for both of them. "Only since yesterday, big guy."

Clawhauser's paws went to his face and he began to rapidly stamp his feet while his tail waved behind him. "Oh, that is so adorable! I totally knew you guys were going to be a couple someday. Of course, I thought it would have been a lot sooner, but, it seems like Nicky here has been a little slow on the uptick." At this point, Judy groaned, rubbing her eyes with paws as the cheetah continued. "I thought you would have asked her out ages ago. Then all those chases you did, and hospital visits would have been so much more romantic.

The cheetah gained a wistful gaze, clasping both paws together near his cheek while sighing. "But now that you guys are together, I totally need to let the betting pool know about this."

"There's a betting pool?!" both fox and rabbit yelled at once, before staring at each other in horror.

The cheetah nodded, "Of course! I know of at least a few dozen officers that have placed bets on you two. There's Officer McHorn, that big softie," Clawhauser mused. "He was the first to actually bet on the two of you becoming a couple, after me of course. Then there's Snarlof, Higgins, Wolford, Barnes, Trunkaby, Valerie," Clawhauser sighed, a far off look in his face before he continued. "Wallace, McKanga...I have got to let them all know right now that…"

"Uh, Clawhauser, could you do us a favor?" Judy asked, her paws clasped in front of her. "Could you  _please_  not let anyone know about us dating yet?"

"Or not at all, until we say you can?" Nick added, placing a paw on Judy's shoulder. "We kind of want to keep this a secret from Bogo since we  _kind of_  want to stay as partners on the force."

"Oh, oh, oh, of course!" Clawhauser nodded his head rapidly before tracing a paw over his lips. "My lips are sealed and it would take multiple tickets to see Gazelle to get it out of me.

"Eheh.." Judy coughed nervously. "I'm glad to hear it would at least take a couple instead of just one…"

"Your secret is safe with me!" The big cat saluted the two smaller officers, who returned with their own half hearted salutes.

"Now if you excuse us," Nick chimed in, grasping his paws together, "Officer Hopps and I have a  _very_  big day tomorrow, and a trip to plan."

"Of course, of course."

The fox and rabbit passed by Clawhauser on the way to the stairs, disappearing in only a few moments, leaving the cheetah to himself. A big grin appeared on his face as he reached for his phone.

"I know I'm not supposed to, but…"

He quickly pressed the speed dial function on his phone, elated when the mammal on the other side of the line picked up.

"Val? Guess what sweetie…" Clawhauser turned to walk towards the balcony of the third floor, spying Nick and Judy disappearing around the corner, heading off with Officer Rhinowitz back to their apartment.

He could barely contain his squee of joy as the jaguar asked him what was going on.

"It's them" his squee of joy finally bursting from his lips. "..they're dating!"

* * *

"So, you two decide to skip out on your rehab session two nights ago to go gallivanting through Tundratown, chasing after arsonists? If you two keep that up, guess what? YOU'LL BE DEAD!"

"Thank you for your vote of confidence, Ursula. We will try to never miss another of your wonderful sessions to chase arsonists." Nick replied, his response oozing charm.

"Don't you be giving me no sass, Foxtrot," Ursula bellowed, placing her paws on her hips while towering over the two smaller mammals.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Nick replied, his smirk still on his face.

The large polar bear grunted before plodding over to her desk, before sitting roughly in the large rolling chair behind it. "So…"

Nick and Judy looked at each other, with both arching their eyebrows before Judy looked back at the massive bear. "So...what?"

"So, why are you here instead of at the safe house."

"Well, you see…" Nick began, scratching at the back of his head. "Chief Buffalo…"

"What Nick means to say," Judy interjected, giving the fox a quick glare before returning a much lighter gaze towards the massive polar bear, "Was that Chief Bogo wanted us to come down here to inform you that he has approved us spending the remainder of our leave in Bunnyburrow, instead of the safe house."

The polar bears' eyebrows arched, though her expression calmed quite a bit as she turned to face the rabbit. "And why would he do that, Ms Hopps?"

Nick's eyebrow arched as he wondered about the polar bear's change in tone when speaking to Judy, but he shook his head of those thoughts momentarily.

"Apparently," Nick stated, "He thinks that the burrows might be, quote, 'a place where you two would finally be out of my fur and hopefully not getting into trouble, injured, or both' end quote."

"That sounds like old Buffalo Butt." Ursula laughed. Both Nick and Judy's eyes widened at hearing  _that_  particular name come out of the ursa's mouth. Ther bear finished chuckling and waved her paw at them. "Just make sure you don't do anything stupid out there Fire-Fox," Ursula said, pointing to Nick, then rotated her gaze to Judy, her tone sweetening. "And make sure old Foxy Loxy here doesn't wind up dead, you got that Ms Hopps?"

"Loud and clear," Judy replied hesistantly, before the two exited the polar bears office, shutting the door behind them. They both stared at each other, though Nick's ears fell as he sighed.

"Two things, Carrots. One, why does it seem like Urusula likes you? And two;  _Buffalo butt_. I thought I came up with that name for Bogo…"

* * *

The pair eagerly left the precinct after the frosty meeting with Ursula, glad to finally have approval to leave the safe house and spend the week somewhere where they could be a lot less confined. Judy had been so filled with joy as they re-entered their apartment, she jumped straight up, twisting in the air while kicking her feet to the side before landing back on the ground. Nick stared a little wide eyed at her as she hopped about the room excitedly.

"Did you just...binky, on me, Judy?"

The rabbit stopped, her ears shooting up and slowly gave him a nervous grin. "Is that a bad thing?" she asked hesitantly.

Nick smirked, "Not in the least, Carrots. In fact," he arched an eyebrow, "I thought it was kind of...cute."

The next few minutes were spent as Judy chased Nick around the living room with a pillow, the fox laughing while the rabbit yelled at him to not use the 'c-word' around her again.

* * *

Somehow, they finally found themselves at Grand Central Station at 7pm, both carrying a suitcase and with Judy on the phone, frantically trying to get a hold of her parents to let them know they were making a surprise trip to Bunnyburrow on the very last redeye train. All while under the watchful gaze of Officers Mooserson, a new moose recruit, and Grizzoli, a polar bear, who stood a far enough distance away from the fox and rabbit as to not draw attention to themselves, but to also be able to watch for any mammal making an approach towards them.

The only reason they were on  _this_  particular red-eye, was due to the fact that Bogo had wanted the least amount of mammals to see them. It had given them only two hours to pack and snag a quick meal, before being driven to the station by the officers guarding them. Luckily, with the time the train was departing, as well as how not many mammals decided to visit Bunnyburrow in the middle of a workweek, Bogo's plan seemed to have worked, as the few mammals present showed no interest in the pacing rabbit, or the fox sitting on an empty bench, waiting for the 7:15pm train to the Burrows.

"Pick up, pick up, pick up!"

Nick chuckled as Judy paced back and forth in the middle of the nearly empty station. "Maybe they're out picking carrots?"

Judy sent him a quick smirk, before turning the phone off as it reached a familiar voicemail. Walking over to Nick, she plopped down on the bench next to him, leaning into arm. She eyed the phone in her paws once more before placing it on the bench next to her.

"I'll just send them a text when we board the train."

"And if they don't check that?" Nick asked. "I mean, as much as I  _love_  the idea of, one; surprising your family in the middle of the night with us showing up on their porch, and..." he pointed between them, "two; surprising them with the fact that you brought a handsome fox home with you, and three; said devilishly good looking fox is your amazing boyfriend..." Nick leaned back into the bench, smirking with his most natural half lidded expression. "I'm sure that will go over  _quite_  well with your parents, the same ones, I might add, that tried to supply you a fox taser."

"I didn't take it, you know," Judy huffed with a dry smile. "Besides, Dad is much better now. Since he began working with Gideon Grey, he's been a lot more open and friendly to predators."

"Our last meeting didn't seem to go over too well," Nick sighed, his tone becoming remorseful as he looked out towards the train tracks, his ears lowering as he clasped his paws together.

Judy felt like she needed to reply, but caught herself, thinking back to the shouting match in the hospital where Nick had stormed out of the room after her father had said... _those_  things, about him. She found herself agreeing that the meeting  _hadn't_  gone well, and after he had left, she had words with her father about it.

Her dad was a worrier, that was just who he was, and hearing his daughter was suddenly in the hospital, well…

"That isn't who he is anymore…" Judy replied softly. "If anything, that was my fault for not calling them when I could have and leaving it off for several days. At least now, maybe things will be better."

Nick huffed, then looked over at Judy who was looking at him with hope-filled eyes.

The fox didn't know where her remarkable sense of optimism was coming from, but it was something he wished he could share with her. If anything, the pair of them suddenly showing up at the Hopps' farmhouse in the middle of the night, as well as the news they were being chased by a homicidal maniac, would probably only brew even more hostility than before. They certainly couldn't tell Judy's parents  _that_  little detail about their sudden visit.

Sighing heavily, he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer to his chest. "Judy, I think we should probably keep it a secret of exactly why we're suddenly showing up at your parents home."

Nick felt a paw placed over his own, and saw Judy's paw on top of his. She was looking up at him, her amethyst eyes portraying the sadness trying to be hidden behind them. "You mean the whole, crazy murderer targeting us as well as the whole, needing a safe house to hide in for at least a week?" She suddenly giggled. "Why would we exclude that piece of information?"

Laughing himself, Nick pulled Judy tighter into his arms, pulling her close as he kissed the top of her head. "Well, when you put it that way, maybe we should lead with that." Judy playfully pushed him, but soon went back to nuzzling into his side.

"We have a few hours to think about what we'll tell, and not tell them," she murmured, stifling a yawn.

"Speaking of which," Nick tousled Judy's ears with his free paw. "Have you tried calling any of your siblings to see if they'd pick up?"

Judy's ears perked up and she turned quickly to face Nick, her eyes wide and a large smile forming on her face. "Nick! You're brilliant!"

"When am I not, Carrots?" He replied, only to find himself unable to talk as Judy jumped onto him and pressed a quick kiss to his lips before pulling away, her phone already in her paw, dialing a new number.

Nick chuckled as he watched Judy becoming quite animated when, after three calls to three different siblings, one finally picked up.

"Hey, Jaden! Yes, it's me.  _No,_ I haven't been eaten yet, so stop listening to Pop-pop!"

Nick chuckled as he watched Judy's foot begin to thump. The fox had heard stories about this,  _Pop-Pop_ , otherwise known as Judy's grandfather. Apparently, him and Judy had a roe one night, after she had told him about how her partner on the force was a fox, and her grandfather had warned her not to trust him because, as a red fox, he must have been made by the devil. He smirked as her frustrations only seemed to grow the longer the call went on.

"Yes, could you give the phone to Mom or Dad?" A pause, though Nick couldn't hear what was said. "They're  _still_  in the berry patch? How long will they be there, can't you just get them?" Her foot thumping became louder. "Another hour! Fine, just let them know that Nick and I are coming to visit."

"Don't forget to tell them we're coming tonight!" Nick yelled over at her, only for her to hold up her paw to silence him.

"What? Yes, that was Nick.  _No,_  you can't talk to him right now."

"Why not?" Nick laughed, finding amusement in Judy's frustration with her brother, even if she was probably going to be mad at him later for it.

Judy's foot stopped thumping and her voice raised an octave. " _NO, I am not thumping my foot right now!"_

Nick couldn't help himself anymore, and started snickering, only for Judy to look at him and shake her head. "Alright, just...just let Mom and Dad know we are coming and to have someone pick us up around 10pm, or whenever the train arrives."

Both mammals turned their heads as their heard a whistle sound in the station and an electronic voice announcing the imminent departure of the Bunnyburrow express.

"Oh, gotta go! Tell Mom and Dad were coming to visit and arriving around 10'ish, alright Jaden? Love you, bye!" Judy clicked off her phone just as the train pulled in front of them, the doors opening to reveal a few smaller mammals, such as beavers and muskrats, as well as one bored looking bison exiting the train car.

"Well, I guess this is our train," Nick said, sitting up while walking over to Judy who finished shoving her phone in her pocket, her suitcase in paw. They walked towards the train and were just about to step on when Nick, who was walking in front, paused.

"Now, where are my manners?" Nick chuckled, shaking his head. He turned to wink at Judy and moved to the side, waving his arm dramatically. "Ladies first."

Judy giggled, then stepped onto the train as Nick followed after, all under the careful watch of McHorn and Grizzoli.

The two seasoned officers turned to leave as Judy and Nick disappeared onto the train, their duty to watch them finished, when a startled yell caused them to turn away from the train.

"Hold the train, please!" shorter white rabbit with black stripes across his cheeks was yelling as he dashed towards the train. The two officers stepped aside as the rabbit zoomed past them, slipping onto the train as the doors began to close.

Mooserson grunted and narrowed his eyes. "Think he was safe for us to let on? I mean, remember that one time we forgot to do a perimeter check when guarding that chapel for that wedding? That poor groom..."

"Officer Calhound seems fine, though."

Grizzoli grunted, then looked at his watch. "Not like we stopped anybody else from getting on the train. Besides, it's just a bunny. Worse he'd do is hit on Hopps, and she's tough enough to handle that."

"I thought Clawhauser said Hopps was dating Wilde."

Grizzoli grunted, "Don't listen to what Benji says, he's just excitable. Wants to win the betting pool so badly he imagines things. He's a fox, she's a bunny. Pred, prey, natural enemies. Plus, I know he annoys her like nothing else. We've all seen them bicker. It's never gonna happen."

Mooserson glanced at the train, shrugging his shoulders as it pulled from the station. "They looked pretty chummy to me." The moose turned and saw his polar bear companion already trudging out the door to the station and quickly trotted to catch him.

* * *

Nick and Judy plopped down into seats on the bottom level of the train as it pulled out of the station. Judy stared up out the window in wonder at the night view of the city as the train rolled through the city and its different regions. A light fog had filled the Rainforest district, making it seem like they were passing through clouds, before entering the tunnel into Tundratown. They blasted out of the tunnel and the condensation on the train windows immediately started frosting, just as an idea popped into Nick's mind. He nudged Judy lightly with his elbow, as she had begun dozing off into his side, right as another rabbit entered into their car, dropping heavily into a seat near them.

"Hey, Hopps, wake up. I think you might want to see something."

Judy opened her eyes slowly, rubbing them as she slowly pushed herself off of leaning into Nick's side. "Whatcha, want me to see, Nick?"

"Just, come with me, Judy," he pled with her, a mischievous twinkling in his eyes. Judy couldn't help but giggle at the eagerness in his eyes.

"Alright, Nicholas Wilde, what are you planning."

"Only the most enjoyable night for my favorite bunny in the world, Judy Hopps." He offered his paw, which Judy took with a roll of her eyes and a slight blush. Together, they grabbed their luggage and Nick led them towards the car ahead of them. They walked through to the other train compartment, heading up the stairs within it.

Unbeknownst to them, the rabbit that had entered their compartment, watched them as they left, staring at the fox and the rabbit with interest. He quickly hopped off his chair, following the two mammals into the next train car.

* * *

Together, Nick led Judy up to the skylight area of the train, a place the rabbit was  _more_  than familiar with as she had spent each trip to and from Zootopia in this particular area. Though nothing could be seen through the heavy cloud cover outside.

Judy looked at Nick, who was smirking down at her, his paws laced behind his back. "So, what did you bring me up here to look at? You?" She grinned as the fox laughed.

"Well, that isn't that bad of a sight, Carrots." The fox wrapped his arm around her as she delightfully hummed. "Though that isn't exactly what I want you to see.

The snowy district disappeared behind them as they entered another tunnel and Judy made her way to the window, placing her paws upon the glass. Nick chuckled, then picked her up and placed her facing the front of the train.

"Carrots, have you ever see Sahara Square at night?"

Judy looked at the fox, shaking her head before she turned back to face the front of the train, just as they exited the tunnel.

Her jaw dropped as the train burst from the dark tunnel and into a dazzling display of blinking lights and neon signs lighting up the night sky. Millions of flashing bulbs twinkled on all the buildings, created a visage of colors and patterns as the train rushed past.

"I know it isn't like the  _real_  stars, but, I think this is about as close as Zootopia can get."

Nick smiled as he felt Judy's paw quickly clasp his own. He felt a sudden tugging on his tie, feeling himself pulled down and now staring into Judy's eyes.

"Thank you, Nick," she said, smiling warmly at the fox, who couldn't help but feel his own smile growing. Then she smirked impishly, and grandly gestured towards Nick, not unlike the show he made of her getting on the train first. "But I think that the best view in all of Zootopia, is right here in front of me."

"I would have to disagree with you there, Carrots," Nick stated, causing Judy's eyebrow to arch. "As the best view in Zootopia is standing in front of  _me._ "

Judy shook her head, "You are such a cheesy fox, you know that, right?"

"Only for you, darling. And you started it. You're just too ' _gouda_ ' to me."

"Har har." Judy shoved him lightly, rolling her eyes as Nick chuckled. "Sorry, I couldn't resist."

He leaned forward and placed a short, gentle kiss upon Judy's muzzle. He pulled away, only for Judy to tug on his tie and pull him in again for another kiss, much longer, and deeper than before.

Below them and downstairs, the rabbit had seen enough. He shook his head and quickly exited the compartment as he pulled his phone from his pocket, dialing a number and putting it to his ear. The rabbit tapped his foot nervously as the phone rang. He heard an irritated 'hello' after the fourth ring.

"Sir, I think I found…Yes, I know it's after hours but... No, sir. I only would call you at home if it were important."

The rabbit began tapping his foot again, peaking through the connecting window into the compartment he just left, only seeing the lower half of the rabbit and fox in the above area through the window.

"Yes, sir, it's about...them." The rabbit jumped and pulled the phone away from his ear as yelling sounded through the device. He placed it back to his ear after a few seconds. "Yes, I know your feelings about them, sir, but…"

The rabbit again looked through the window, grinning as he watched the two mammals in the other train car.

"...I think you're going to want to hear about this."

 


	21. The Hopp's Kerfluffle

 

The fox's ear twitched from the sound of hissing brakes. He slowly opened his eyes, feeling the train slow as it must be nearing their destination. Nick took notice of his surroundings, remembering how he and Judy had left the observation deck of the train shortly after it had left Zootopia, as both were quite tired. They had retired to share a large seat together in the lounge area, where the lights had been dimmed to allow mammals to sleep better on late night train rides such as this one. He pushed himself up, but stopped as he felt something stir on his lap.

Looking down, Nick smiled as he saw the slumbering form of Judy laying across his lap, her ears lazily falling across her face. Gently, he brushed back her ears, chuckling in his head at the smile that formed on his girlfriend's lips. He didn't want to wake his sleeping partner, she looked so adorable, but, as the lights on the train slowly began to brighten in preparation for arrival in her hometown, Nick gently shook the rabbit resting across his lap.

"Hey, Carrots. Time to wake up."

Judy stirred, her paw swatting at his own.

"Five more minutes, Dad…" she mumbled. Nick's jaw dropped, then drew into a smirk as he couldn't contain his laughter.

"Really, Carrots? You're going with  _that_  nickname for me now?"

Again Judy stirred, though this time, her eyes cracked open a fraction of an inch. "I'll call you whatever I want, Foxy."

Nick shook his head, "Alright, sleeping beauty. I've think you've gotten enough rest for now. Besides, if you don't wake up now, how will you sleep in an hour when we arrive at your home?"

That woke her up. "We're already there?"

"Yep."

Her eyes opened the rest of the way and she rubbed at them blearily as she sat up. The rabbit stretched, then yawned, revealing her large front teeth while letting out a soft  _'eep'._

She looked up at Nick, only to see his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. She cocked her head to the side, "What?"

"Out of everything I've seen in my life, that had to have been the cut-."

"Don't say it, Nick," Judy warned, glaring at him, only for the glare to be cut off by another yawn.

"And there it is again," Nick had cooly, snickering as she lightly jabbed him with her elbow. Judy shook her head, ambling off the fox's lap and hopping to the floor, just as an announcement came over the intercom welcoming them to Bunnyburrow, with the next stop being in Podunk, another hour away in Deerbrook county. As the doors to the train opened, Judy grabbed her suitcase, and pushed it into Nick's arms, eliciting an "oomph" out of the fox.

" _That's_  for calling me cute," Judy said with a smile before she loped off towards the train door. Nick watched her go, her tail twitching as she walked. He shook his head, grabbing his own suitcase and followed his bunny off the train.

After only a few steps off the train, Nick harrumphed, staring at the station in amusement. "Well, this place is...interesting."

Everything in the station looked like a rabbit. The cresting on the top of the station had decorative metal, shaped like bunny heads, the entire station itself looked like a giant, happy rabbit greeting visitors to Bunnyburrow. The windows were all shaped like rabbits, while the pillars that held up the roof around the platform itself were shaped like large carrots.

Nick glanced around, noticing only a few other mammals seemed to have gotten off at this station. He saw a pair of rabbits heading into the station, completely engrossed in conversation with one another, a marmot dragging his luggage behind him and a tired white rabbit with black stripes on his face giving him a sideways glance as the bunny turned and walked around the side of the station.

"So, where's your brother? He said he'd be here, right?" Nick asked Judy, looking down at the rabbit, who herself was looking around the station.

"He should have been here by now," she murmured, sighing when she completed her second scan of the platform.

" _Now leaving Bunnyburrow station,"_  a calm, electronic voice stated behind them. With a hiss, the doors to the train closed, and with a sudden jerk, the train began rolling along to its next destination.

"I guess it's too late to get out of meeting your folks now," Nick said coyly, a smirk spread across his face. "How far away is your place from here?"

Judy sighed. "Only 45 minutes walk from here, but…" she huffed, staring down the road with agitation in her voice. "Jaden  _should_  have been here by now."

"Well, we could always just meet him on the road to your home," Nick suggested, his eyes lighting up. "Think we'd make for passable hitchhikers? I mean, I have the looks to cause any car to stop and pick me up."

Judy rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Just keep thinking that, Slick. Now let's just start towards home."

* * *

They were about halfway to the Hopps home when two headlights became visible in the distance after rounding a hill, racing down the road like it was being chased.

"I'm guessing that must be him?" Nick asked, feeling hopeful as both his and Judy's luggage was starting to become heavy in his paws. Judy nodded, checking her phone for the time.

"And only 30 minutes late...a new record," she chuckled, watching the incoming truck rumbling down the road towards them. As it neared, the vehicle honked several times before skidding to a stop in front of them, throwing up a cloud of dust which surrounded the fox and rabbit. Judy coughed several times, as she heard the truck door slam and a familiar voice call out to her.

"Sorry about being late, Sis. I kind of fell asleep on the couch and only woke up a few minutes ago when Matt blared the bullhorn in my ear."

Nick waved some of the last of the dust away, his night vision partly disturbed by the truck's headlights, but managed to make out a brown rabbit, a little taller than Judy, rounding the corner of the truck.

Judy smiled as her brother approached, then wrapped him up in a tight hug. "You're ok, Jaden. Besides, I had this guy here with me to keep me company so it was a pleasant walk."

Jaden turned to look at Nick, eyeing him carefully before sticking out his paw. "Name's Jaden, and you must be Nick, right? Sissy's partner? Looks like you're doing a good job at that, considering she's still in one piece"

"That would be me," Nick replied warmly, shaking the extended paw. "Though I think that, ' _sissy_ '," he glanced over at Judy who glared back at him as she shook her head, "is probably the one who has been watching out for me more often than not," the fox continued with a chuckle. "How many times have you saved my life now, Carrots? Seven? Eight?"

Judy smirked, "It's  _eleven_ , Nick. Are you still not counting the time I saved you from that lion?"

Nick smirked. "I had that  _completely_  under control, Carrots. There was no need for you to use my head as a bouncing board to dropkick him into the pavement like Bun Norris. Therefore, it doesn't count."

"Right," Judy drawled, snickering as Nick's smirk turned into a smile. "And that truck driven by the elephant?"

"Pure coincidence," Nick chimed back.

"Mmhmm, right," Judy snickered.

"Wow, you two argue a bit just like Mom and Dad do. For a second there, I'd almost mistake you two for a couple or something."

Both Nick and Judy turned to look at Jaden, their eyes widening with nervous smiles creeping up their faces. They glanced towards each other before laughing nervously.

"Right," Judy piped out, at a much higher octave than her usual voice. "That  _totally_  is the reason…" Her comment slowed before turning into more nervous laughter while Nick scratched at the back of his head.

Jaden eyed the two, arching his eyebrow before simply shrugging his shoulders and grabbed their suitcase. "You're just as weird as always, Judy," the male bunny drawled, chuckling as he threw their suitcases into the back of the truck. "Now you two best get in here, since Mom and Dad said they don't want to wait another minute before they see you again, Judy."

The truck roared to life as Nick popped open the passenger side door, holding it open for Judy as she hopped into the truck. Nick slid in after her, only to find there wasn't enough room for two bunnies and a fox to fit in. Smirking, he patted his lap, winking at his partner.

"Carrots, since there doesn't seem to be enough room in here for all three of us, would you like to  _hop_  on over? My lap is big enough for you."

Judy felt a blush rising in her ears, but folded her arms across her chest, shaking her head while trying to maintain a stoic expression.

That expression remained until she suddenly found herself with two red paws around her middle, hoisting her into the air and down onto a certain fox's lap. She let out a small surprised 'eep' at the motion, her ears laying flat against her neck as she twisted to stare up at

"You…"

"Are amazing? Yes, yes I am." Nick finished for her, his smirk becoming even more smarmy than before. "And you know you love it…" he finished, leaning down so his muzzle was barely an inch away from her own. He paused, realizing that there was another mammal in the car, one that  _didn't_  know they were a couple yet.

Judy readied a retort, forgetting about her brother driving, when the car hit a bump, sending Nick and Judys' muzzles into each other in what became a very surprising kiss for both of them. Two sets of eyes widened as they pushed away from each other, Judy quickly turning her head back to face forward, her ears turning a bright red as Nick's smirk fell in an instant. Both mammals turned suddenly to face Judy's brother, both sets of ears lowering and eyes going wide.

"That wasn't what you thought…" Judy started explaining before her brother started laughing.

"Well, cabbage patch and thump my foot. You two  _are_ a couple, aren't 'cha?"

Both Nick and Judy turned to see a grinning Jaden eyeing them with a broad smile.

"Oh boy, ole Pop-pop's gonna have a heart attack now."

Judy groaned, putting her paws over her face. "Sweet cheese and crackers…"

Jaden laughed even harder. "You always had the cutest swear words sissy." The young buck winked at her, causing her blush to heat up even further.

"Could you possibly,  _not_ , let the rest of the family know about that little secret? We want to figure out how to let them know about this, and I wouldn't mind a few days to be around them first before we tell them." Nick exclaimed, before looking down at Judy who was shaking her head.

"Don't worry yer little britches, Nick," Jaden drawled, tossing the fox a wink. "Your secrets safe with me."

Judy exhaled loudly, before jumping across the middle console and wrapping her arms around her brother in a tight hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She blurted out, squeezing him harder with each 'thank you'.

"Driving! Driving! Driving! Aak-" Jaden yelped.

Nick just clung to the side of the truck and the back of his seat as the truck continued swerving down the road, whispering to himself.

"Don't crash, don't crash, don't crash."

* * *

"Oh, there you are, Judy! I've missed you so much!"

Judy barely had time to hop out of the truck before she was enveloped by her mother. Judy relaxed under her mother's embrace, squeezing back with a contented smile.

"I've missed you too, Mum."

Bonnie pulled away from her daughter, looking over her as only a mother could while placing her paws on Judy's shoulders. "Oh and look at you, have you been eating well? No more of those minute-carrot meals I hope? And how have you been? Staying safe? No more savage mammals after you?"

"Mother, I'm fine." Judy couldn't help but giggle at the flurry of questions her mother shot her way. "Yes, I have been eating well. No, I haven't eaten one of those meals in months, and I'm a cop, so I can't guarantee on staying safe."

"And the last one? No more savage mammals after you I hope? You frightened us so much, sweetie."

Judy shook her head, "No mother, there haven't been any savage mammals chasing after me since then."

It wasn't a lie, as it was true that Judy  _hadn't_  been chased by any savage mammals, but had been the one  _doing_  the chasing. It hurt her a little to hide the truth from her mother of all mammals, but if Judy was honest with herself, she hoped this entire last week would be something she wouldn't have to let her mother ever know about.

"That's good to hear. Stu wanted to be here to meet you two when you arrived, but one of the irrigation pipes in the carrot fields broke so he had to go and mend that real quick, but he should be back soon." Bonnie stated, gently brushing her daughter's cheek with her paw. "It's so good to have you back, Judy."

Bonnie jumped a little when the truck door shut with a 'thud, her eyes focusing on the fox behind her daughter. "Oh, and there's your partner. How have you been, Nick? I hope you've been well?" Her voice sounded a little more nervous than usual, and Judy put that towards how the  _last_  meeting between her parents and Nick had gone.

Nick chuckled, which seemed to help in cutting the slight tension in the air, while placing a paw gently onto Judy's shoulder from behind. "I've been well, and we've got this little bunny to thank for that."

Judy smiled, craning her head so she could see Nick smiling down at her. Though his gaze quickly shifted to the enormous building in front of him.

It wasn't that the Hopps residence was  _tall_ , it was more that it was simply massive and long. Where the front door and porch was, it looked like a normal ranch style home in the country, tall eaves, chimneys interspersed here and there, along with a brickwork facade that went up to the lips of the windows. Yet as Nick took a few steps to his right and leaned out, he could see the building went on for what must have been at least 100 yards or more. His marvelling at the structure, which he assumed would be much more impressive during the day, was interrupted by Judy's brother.

"I'd say that both of them have been better than well," came a shout from behind the truck as Jaden appeared carrying both Nick and Judy's suitcases. "I reckon they haven't told you about it yet?" the male rabbit stated while setting the suitcases onto the ground in front of Nick.

Bonnie turned from Jaden, to Judy. "Oh, what haven't you told me about yet?"

Both the male fox and younger doe froze on the spot, looking at each other for support on what to say. Jaden chuckled and walked up to Judy, placing his arm around her shoulders. "Well, looks like Judy here has...oww-"

"...has come a long way and is  _really_  tired and wouldn't mind getting some sleep, right Nick?" Judy stated frantically, ignoring her brothers cry of pain at suddenly being elbowed in his ribs by his sister.

"Oh my," Bonnie stated in alarm. "It is quite late, isn't it, and you two have made such a long trip. I should let you two get some shut eye."

Bonnie headed toward the house, followed by Jaden who Judy gave a quick glare while making a zipping motion with her paw across her mouth as he glanced at her. Nick chuckled before grabbing both suitcases and the pair headed towards the farmhouse.

"Nice save there, Carrots" Nick whispered.

The doe sighed. "I know, but it will come up again," she whispered back, grateful they had lagged behind so as her mother and brother couldn't hear them. "Jaden isn't good with keeping secrets, and I know my mother is going to try and set me up with some young buck while I'm here."

The fox shrugged, "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it then. For now, let's just try and focus on doing what Bogo wants us to do; relax and recuperate so we can go back out and make the world a better place."

A contented sigh escaped Judy's lips as she leaned against her fox as they walked towards the Hopp's residence. "And we'll be doing that together."

* * *

Judy led Nick into the farmhouse, Bonnie excusing herself to go check up on Stu, and the fox could only gaze in wonderment at his surroundings. Everything was so, rustic and charming inside the large farmhouse, and it simply screamed 'country' with the older, but still well maintained furniture, flowered wallpaper and earthy smells. The fox breathed in deeply, wondering if he could encapsulate the smell and bring it home to his own apartment.

His partner led him through the massive entry room, then an even larger living room space. Nick shook his head in wonder at the scale of the room he had just entered, as it must have been able to fit the entire Hopps clan inside of it. The room extended for quite a ways, with doors along the sides every few feet. The ceiling arched, with wooden beams crossing the width of the room nearly eight feet above his head while at the far end, a large group of chairs surrounded an equally large fireplace, which glowed dull with the dying embers of a recent fire.

"Judy, this...is amazing," Nick stated in awe as he looked around the room, noticing in the dim light that the doors along the sides of the room each had letters above them. Nick looked to his left, spotting what must be the kitchen, judging from the black and white tile floor that began where the carpeting of the living room ended. "I think I could fit the floorplan of my entire apartment complex into this one room…"

"Well, we  _did_ need space for all 278 of us when we were all here together," Judy exclaimed, giggling at how stupefied the fox was. "And now, with many of my siblings having their own litters, well...we  _still_  need the space."

"You really  _do_  have 275 siblings don't you…" Nick stated, his eyes wide as he looked down at Judy. "I thought it was just another joke about rabbits and multiplying."

Judy shook her head with a laugh. "Nope, it's all true. And each of those doors along the wall lead to hallways and individual rooms for each of the litters my parents had." The doe pointed out the letters above each door to the fox in the dim light. Nick followed her paw until he spied the letter 'J' two-thirds the way down the left side of the room.

"So behind that door and down that hallway is where my room is. The kids in each litter all share the same first letter of their first name, that way it is easier to everyone to remember each other's names."" She beamed up at Nick, who was still too shocked as he started looking down the other side of the room. His trance was only broken when he began chuckling.

"Wait, if each litter starts with that letter, who were the poor bunnies that were in the 'X' litter?"

"Oh," Judy smiled. "Well, there's Xander, and Xeres, Xerxes, Xerenity and…"

Nick's jaw hung slack, which caused another spat of giggling from his partner. She grabbed his paw and led him past all the doors and towards the large fireplace. On the way, Nick passed several large tv screens, so many couches and chairs he couldn't count them all, and dozens of tables lined straight down the center of the room, for what Nick could only guess was the dining area.

"...and right down here is where you'll be staying," Judy stated with a gleam in her eyes, waving her paw towards a door labeled "Guest". Nick glanced down at her, suddenly embarrassed as he realized that she had been talking the entire time he'd been ogling the room in wonder.

Nick just nodded, his mind still buzzing when he felt his tie being pulled. He startled from his fuzzy mind once he felt a pair of lips connect sweetly with his own in a short, but tender kiss.

"Thought you'd might like a goodnight kiss," Judy exclaimed, her eyes full of mirth, but betrayed by the yawn that suddenly forced its way upon her. Nick chuckled, leaning forward to place a kiss between her ears, only after looking around to make sure nobody was watching them.

"Goodnight, Carrots," he said, his own yawn hitting him as his mouth opened wide and his tongue lolled out. It was Judy's turn to giggle as she started back towards the door labelled with a "J". See you tomorrow, Nick!"

Nick watched her go, smiling at how her tail flickered with each step, until she disappeared behind the door and into the hallway where her room was. He shook his head then entered into the guest bedroom. He spotted the bed instantly, and was glad that it was sized for a larger mammal than a bunny. Quickly changing, he closed his suitcase, dropping it next to his bed as he threw the covers off and pulled himself beneath them.

The fox was out in seconds, the new scents of Judy's childhood home softly and gently lulling him to sleep.

* * *

Nick felt like he was being watched. Sure he didn't have his eyes open at the current moment, but, that didn't make the feeling of several sets of eyes on him dissipate any. He cracked open an eyelid, noticing the early morning rays from the sun just beginning to flicker into the guest room he was staying in. His eyelids lowered again, as he couldn't see anyone in the room around him. Fluffing his pillow and letting out a yawn, he snuggled deeper under the covers, inhaling the fresh scent and smell of oak that permeated the room.

_I could get used to this_ …Nick thought as he pushed himself deeper under the covers, enjoying the warmth they provided.

" _Did you see his teeth?"_

" _Wow, those were huge! I bet he could eat you with those!"_

" _Vera, I dare you to touch 'em."_

Nick's eyes opened in a flash and he flung himself into a sitting position, tossing the covers off of him as his heart began beating rapidly. As soon as his eyes adjusted to the dim light, they widened even further.

_Oh Maid Marian..._ he thought.

Surrounding his bed, on all three sides, were dozens, and dozens of small rabbits, their wide eyes all staring up at him. He nervously scanned the room, suddenly feeling extremely self conscious as the rabbits all seemed to blink at once when he smiled hesitantly.

"Hey there...kits," Nick managed to croak out, trying to figure out how to escape his current situation. He never thought he'd see the day when he'd be surrounded by so much...fluff.

"Hey, he seems nice." a voice from the back of the group piped up, though Nick couldn't pinpoint it.

"I wanna hug 'em!" cried another.

"Me too!"

At the insistence of those two voices, the swarm of bunny kits all moved forward at once, clamoring up the sides of the bed as Nick pushed himself back into the headboard behind him.

"Oh, no, no, no, no!" Nick cried as dozens of the bunnies popped up over the side of the bed, hopping merrily towards him over the covers. "Carrots! Heeeeeelp! Yip!" Nick yelped as several paws grasped his tail, while the herd of rabbits climbed over him.

Nick heard familiar laughter as his vision was cut off as Judy's siblings overwhelmed him, all climbing on top of him, either hugging him, playing with his tail.

"I guess you've met the Kerfluffle, eh Nick?"

"Is that what you call this savage mob?" Nick cried out, poking an arm out from underneath the mess of bunnies, all giggling and laughing atop of him. After a few moments he managed to pop his head out of the mass of fluff, gasping for air in an overacted manner.

"Alright you guys," Judy giggled, clapping her paws several times. "Out, out, out! All of you, off my fox."

A chorus of 'awww's' rang out, but the kerfluffle replied quickly by climbing off the fox just as quickly as they had overtaken him, leaving a wide eyed and panting Nick behind.

"Carrots, you saved my life!" Nick said, eyeing the mass of smaller rabbits leaving the room, with Judy shutting the door behind the last one.

"Well, someone has to watch over you," she laughed, walking over to the side of the bed. Sitting on the side, she leaned over and gave Nick a quick peek on his cheek. "Besides, I don't think you could handle that much fluff in one sitting."

"I handle you perfectly well," Nick smirked, snagging Judy in his arms as she let out a shocked giggle. "Speaking of which, I need to  _properly_  thank my fluffy overlord for saving me from that furry mob." Nick leaned down, kissing Judy on her muzzle, wrapping his paws more tightly around her waist. The kiss lengthened as Judy's paw went to caress Nick's cheek, with her other paw wrapping around his head to bring him in tighter against her.

The fox let loose a low growl from deep within his chest.

Judy tightened her hold on the fur at the back of his neck.

The door giggled.

Rolling her eyes and shaking her head, an annoyed expression on her face, Judy moved away from Nick, eliciting a soft whine from the fox at his partner's sudden departure. Judy hopped off the bed, landing softly on her soft-furred paws. She soundlessly walked to the door, turning back and winking at Nick before yanking it open.

Nearly a dozen bunnies fell into the room, the door in which they had been leaning on for support, with their ears against it, vanishing as Judy opened it. The tiny rabbits squealed in surprise and scattered, giggling wildly as Judy shoo'ed them away from the door, before slamming it again.

She turned to face away from the door, sighing heavily while placing a paw to her head. "Sorry about that, I should have known they would try to listen in, the little miscreants."

Nick chuckled. "It's ok, Carrots. I think it might have been a good thing thing that we stopped when we did." He rubbed at the back of his head. "So, what did you call that... _hoard_ , again?"

"The Kerfluffle," Judy replied, her ears lowering behind her as a blush raced across her cheek as she realized how into the moment both of them had been before the interruption. "It used to be a lot worse when I was a teenager, as the Kerfluffle numbered nearly a hundred strong back then. Now it is just a few dozen."

Nick shook his head, sliding off the bed as he approached Judy. "Think they're gone?" he asked.

Judy rolled her eyes, reached behind her, and banged on the door. Several loud giggles were heard, as well as the soft padding of rabbit feet running away as well. "Now they are."

"Good, I wouldn't want that fluffy hoard to overhear me saying what a wonderful girlfriend you are for saving me from them." Nick wrapped his arms around the doe, with Judy reciprocated the action. They stood there for several minutes, enjoying the closeness and the solitude they shared as the room gradually brightened under the rising sun.

Nick's stomach groaned, slicing through the comforting silence like a hot knife through butter.

"Guess it's time for my fox to eat," Judy giggled into Nick's shirt.

"Oh, I have plenty to eat right here," Nick coyly replied, leaning his muzzle down to place a kiss on Judy's lips. "I could eat up your kisses  _all_  day."

"Nick!" Judy laughed, pushing him away as her ears began burning with the heat the fox's comment brought to them.

"It's true," Nick replied, tussling Judy's ears as he relaxed his hug around her.

A knock at the door caused both of them to turn and separate instinctively as the door opened and Bonnie Hopps walked into the room.

"Guess there isn't much privacy here, is there?" Nick whispered into Judy's ear, hoping he was quiet enough to not let the matriarch of the home hear.

Judy shook her head. "None whatsoever."

"Oh, there you are, Judy," Bonnie exclaimed with a smile on her face, ignoring the awkwardness of the moment while folding her paws in front of her. "Guess I can tell you you both then. I have some pancakes ready for everyone."

Nick's ears perked up. "Do they happen to have blueberries in them?"

Bonnie laughed, "Well, I could always throw some on the griddle for you, if you'd like." She turned and walked out the door, her pawsteps disappearing down the hall.

Nick's eyes gleamed as he started towards the door, glancing back at Judy. "Well, what are you waiting for, Judy? There's blueberries to be eaten!"

"I thought you said you could  _devour_ my kisses all day?" Judy asked back coyly with a smile.

Nick froze, a smirk appearing on his face. "Maybe we could share a few blueberries and kisses at the same time then?" Nick waggled his eyebrows as his smirk grew.

"Nick, you dirty minded fox!" Judy felt her ears were on fire as Nick cackled in front of her, and if she was any closer, she'd have hit him for that comment.

"Just joking with you, Fluff," Nick shot back as he waltz out of the room. "You bunnies, so emotional."

Judy growled and ran after him, smiling at the comment, yet ready to 'reprimand' the fox for the statement. It seemed that was what Nick had expected her to do,and she suddenly found herself running straight into the outstretched arms of her partner, who deftly picked her up, swinging her in a circle in the air.

Judy laughed as Nick finished the circle, bringing her in close to nuzzle his cheek against her own. He glanced into her eyes, smiling warmly at her. "And so predictable,  _Carrots_. You ran straight into that one."

The doe rolled her eyes, lightly punching her partner's chest, before rubbing the same spot gently, her eyes containing a mischievous gleam. "I'll let you keep thinking that,  _Blueberries_ , as now  _I_  have you exactly where  _I..._ " she clasped her paws around his collar, bringing his head in close to hers as she whispered into his ears, "...want  _you_."

Judy could feel a shiver run through the fox as his ear twitched. She giggled, then leaned in again for another kiss. Her mind exploded with emotion, and she smiled into the kiss.

She could get used to this...

* * *

Breakfast at the Hopps' was the most organized chaos that Nick had ever witnessed in his life. Dozens of rabbits were running this way and that, several of the older siblings acting as servers for the younger kits, while others acted as bussers, clearing off used dishes from the long table in the center of the great room to make way for more rabbits to come and eat.

The smell of pancakes, fresh fruits, bread and cheese wafted in from the kitchen at the end of the room, making Nick's mouth water. Judy led the fox to the far end of the table, a few seats down from where her father Stu was reading the morning paper. The patriarch of the Hopps home looked over the top of his paper, smiling and setting it down as he saw his daughter and her partner walking towards him.

"Ah, there you are, Jude the dude!" Her father merrily exclaimed, rushing up to hug her tenderly, oblivious to the dazed expression on his daughter's face, as well as the nervousness on the fox's. Stu pulled away, but only for a moment, "I'm sorry about last night. Some of the pipes broke and would have flooded out field four if I didn't run out to fix it. Otherwise, I would have been there to greet both of you." He turned to face Nick, his face growing somber all of a sudden as he extended his paw. "And...I'd like to apologize to you, Nick, for what happened last time we, er, met…"

Nick shook his head, grabbing the extended paw and shaking it warmly. "I understand, Mr Hopps. Your worry about your daughter was understandable."

"But my actions weren't," the older bunny interrupted. "Your supervisor, the hippo, I wish I could remember his name, gosh darn it. He told me what you did for my Judy, Nick and I…"

A tear came to Stu's eyes and he wiped them away. "Aw cripes, here comes the waterworks again."

Nick chuckled, "It's perfectly fine, Mr Hopps. You didn't leave any bruises in your rush to see your daughter, and trust me, the first thing I wanted to do when I woke up was make sure she was ok too."

Judy felt a blush rise through her ears.  _That's happening a lot today, isn't it..._ she thought, trying to control her emotions. It was just so comforting to hear that Nick had such concern for her back in the hospital, and even for him to admit that to her father, of all mammals.

"You're a good mammal, Nick," Stu finally said, wiping at his eyes, while putting a smile back onto his face. "I can't think of a better partner at the ZPD for my daughter to have watching over her."

Both Nick and Judy smiled at one another, grinning at how Stu didn't yet know they were partners in more ways than one, now.

"Now come on, you two must be famished from your trip last night. Come, come, sit down and grab yourself some grub!" Stu waved them towards a table set towards the kitchen, piled high with food like a buffet line. Several bunnies were in line, grabbing pancakes and an orangish mess, which Judy pointed out was a mashed, fried carrot cake that was delicious, to which Nick took Judy's word for, but passed it by in favor of a pile of steaming, hot, blueberry pancakes that one of Judy's siblings dropped in front of the fox.

"Here you go, Flick," the rabbit stated merrily.

"It's Nick," Judy calmly stated as her sibling suddenly looked quite embarrassed.

"Oh, sorry about that," the rabbit murmured, before running back into the kitchen to grab another tray of food.

"How many siblings are still living here at home?" Nick asked as he found a pitcher of blueberry syrup and drained a healthy dosage onto his pancakes.

Judy looked thoughtful for a moment. "I think around 100 or so? Most are either in college, or now have families of their own so have moved out.

Looking around at the chaotic, but somehow controlled scene before him, Nick shook his head in wonder. "I'm amazed at how  _organized_  this is."

"You get a rhythm down after nearly 30 years," Stu interrupted, filling his cup with coffee from a nearby carafe. "It was a bit hard at first, as we had to feed everyone ourselves, but once some of the kits grew old enough to help out, it's become much easier."

The two rabbits and the fox strolled back to the table, piling into the food with gusto.

"So," Nick started to say after swallowing a bite of blueberry pancakes that tasted like heaven to the fox. "What have most of your other siblings been up to Car-, er Judy?" Nick gulped as he almost let out the nickname for her, not knowing if that would be polite to use around her father. Luckily, Stu hadn't seemed to have noticed, currently engrossed in his newspaper and coffee mug.

"Most of them are still in the Tri-Burrows area, starting up their own farms, though as you saw, Jaden is still here helping out father. I think Jessica is still around here if I'm not mistaken…"

"Yep, your twin is still here," Stu opined, his paper set upon the table. "Though I'm none too happy about what's going on."

"What do you mean?" Nick asked, before taking another bite of pancakes.

"She's gone off and joined some dating site,  _Litter_ , or something like that, and found herself some city-bunny she's fallen for. I mean, she's only met the buck a few times and you can't judge someone from just a casual cup of joe once in awhile."

"Sounds like Jessica," Judy drawled, sipping at her cup of carrot juice. "Though the city isn't  _that_  bad. I've met some good natured rabbits there."

"If you've met some good ones, that means there are some bad ones as well," Stu stated, swirling his cup of coffee in his paw. "And I don't trust this one. He seems a bit...shifty to me."

"Dad, is this because he's a  _city-buck?_ We've talked about this before."

Stu waved a paw at his daughter. "I know, I know," he replied, before leaning in towards her. "But you know how dangerous the city can be, I mean, look what just happened to you two. That was a random attack, so just imagine what might happen to Jessica if that were to happen to her."

Both Judy and Nick looked at each other, worry crossing their features. Neither wanted to be the mammal to tell the elder Hopps that it wasn't such a random assault and that they were in fact, targeted by a serial killer. Letting that slip would probably only increase her father's worry of letting another Hopps daughter to enter the city.

"Sometimes, you just need to give a mammal a chance after a first impression." Nick finally said, his eyes thoughtful as he looked towards Stu. "I mean, I'm sure Judy here has told you what her first impressions about me were."

Judy laughed warmly, glancing at the fox. "I told him you were a mean, annoying, shifty-hey!"

"Alright, I get the picture, Fluff," Nick interrupted, tussling Judy's ears with a smirk. "But just looked what I turned into, eh?"

The doe looked up at him, her eyes half lidded as a smirk grew on her own face. "What, you mean a nicer, but still annoying, shifty-"

Nick put his paw across Judy's mouth, cutting her off. "You have such a way with complimenting a guy." Nick grumbled, as Judy glared at him. He yelped and brought his paw away from over her mouth, with Judy grinning smugly at him, sticking her tongue out at him.

Stu chuckled at the two younger adult mammals, though it slowly fell away as his gaze shifted to one of concern. "I just worry about her, being in the city and all. Especially since that buck she's dating is a reporter, and those types always seem to get themselves into mischief, and I don't want that affecting Jessica."

"Would it help if we took a look into this buck, make sure he's on the up-and-up?" Judy offered.

Stu's eyes lit up. "That would be wonderful, although you wouldn't have to do that. He's supposed to be here any minute now, as Jess went into town to pick him up." He finished the sentence with a low growl of annoyance, which somewhat unnerved and humored both Nick and Judy.

Though another factor caused the duo to glance in worry at one another.

"You said he was a reporter, Mr Hopps?"

"Call me Stu," the older rabbit said with a wave of his paw before his mood once again went dour. "And yes, he's a reporter. I think Jess said something about The Daily Trumpet? At least he doesn't write for one of those pesky tabloids like The Zootopian Enquirer or anything."

"Yeah, that would be...terrible," Judy exclaimed, looking at Nick, who seemed to be equally as worried. Stu's admission did little to settle their fears, but only seemed to exaggerate them further.

The Daily Trumpet was the number one source of news in Zootopia, right behind ZNN, the Zootopian News Network. So if this rabbit were to report that they were here,  _everyone_  in Zootopia would know about it instantly.

"Dad, I'm home!" Sang a voice from the front entryway.

"Speak of the devil," Stu grumbled, placing his cup of coffee on the table. He looked over towards Judy and Nick. "Looks like you'll be meeting him sooner than I thought."

Both Nick and Judy turned to look at the front entryway of the Hopps' warren, trying to hide their trepidation and worry with a facade of friendliness and warmth. Nick's jaw dropped in shock as a grey rabbit strolled towards them, followed closely by a white rabbit with black stripes along his ears and cheeks.

"She looks just like you," Nick whispered as Judy's sister came closer, her hips swaying in her cut off shorts, which the buck behind her had a hard time not staring at.

Jessica looked in their direction, and her eyes lit up. "Judy!"

Judy grinned, stepping up from the table before running to her sister, who had herself sprinted towards her twin. The two met in huge hug, squeals of joy coming from both of them as they laughed.

"Gosh, it's been ages, Jude," Jessica stated, pulling away from her sister with a giggle. "Yet you're still as cute as ever! I'm surprised all the available rabbits from here to Zootopia haven't swarmed you yet." Jessica winked at her sister, who blushed at the compliment.

It was then Jessica must have noticed Nick, as her eyes went wide, then lowered slightly. "And who's this handsome fox we have here?" She cooed.

Nick moved from his chair, walking over and extending his paw. "Officer Nick Wilde, Judy's partner," he stated sharply, as Jessica took his paw, then yanked it forward and pulled him into a hug with a laugh.

Judy watched, a strange feeling in her gut which wasn't sitting well with her as she watched Nick freeze up as her sister hugged the fox. It still simmered as Jessica let go, laughing the entire time as Nick slowly back away, then wrapped his arm around Judy's waist.

The feeling vanished at his touch, and she looked up to see him wink down at her.

"Oh, what kind of doe am I," Jessica drawled, as she turned around and yanked the male rabbit following her forward. "Judy, Nick, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend. He arrived late last night on the last train in."

The buck shuffled forward, his eyes widening in surprise as Jessica giggled. "He's a reporter, you know…" Jessica stated, giving the male rabbit an affectionate hug, and a rather intimate kiss on the buck's ear.

"Is she always like that? Nick whispered to Judy, his voice low enough to where only she could hear him.

Judy nodded, looking up at the fox. "Ever since we were kits she's been like that. So be a bit careful around her, alright?" Judy gave him a wink.

Out of view of her father, Jack, and Jessica, Nick grabbed Judy's paw and gave it a quick squeeze. "I only have eyes for you, Carrots."

"Wait, are you two,  _the_  Judy Hopps, and  _the_ Nick Wilde? The police officers?" Jack stuttered, somewhat recovering from the kiss Jessica gave him, but still visibly shivering from the affection Judy's sister was giving his way.

The two nodded hesitantly. The male rabbit extended his paw, an excited grin spreading across his face.

"Oh, I've been wanting to meet you two for so long now." He roughly grabbed both their paws, shaking them profusely, only letting go when Nick and Judy pulled their paws away, sharing in a nervous chuckle. "Oh where are my manners," the buck said, putting his paw to his head.

"The names' Jack. Jack S Pawson, at your service."

 


	22. Damage Control

 

Judy stood there, frozen in place, as Jack continued shaking her paw. They had come to Bunnyburrow to get away from attention and publicity, and within the first day, they already had a reporter in her childhood home.

_Sweet cheese and crackers_...Judy thought, grateful when the overly exuberant, pawshake finally ended. Glancing at Nick, the fox held the same look of concern on his face as she did, before he schooled his features. He jerked his head in a quick motion to the door, and Judy nodded her head in agreement.

She cleared her throat, directing her attention towards her father. "Dad, Nick and I just remembered something we need to do outside, could you excuse us for a moment?"

"Why certainly," the Hopp's patriarch replied jovially. "Are you sure you've had enough breakfast? Doesn't look like either of you have eaten mu…"

"We'll be fine," Judy interjected, waving her paw at him while flashing him her best fake smile she could. "It will only take a few minutes, so we can come back. Just save our plates for us, ok?"

Stu shrugged, then quickly turned to face the newcomer, Jack, shaking his paw while greeting him cordially, though still with a hint of frost at the edges. Nick and Judy took the opportunity and walked briskly towards the door, Nick opening it for her, before following. Judy hurried around the side of the house, Nick trailing behind, only to nearly walk into her when she stopped after they rounded the corner. Judy grabbed her ears and pulled, groaning in frustration.

"He just  _has_  to be a reporter!" Judy shouted, as she began pacing along the edge of the house. "We only convinced Bogo we could be safe here because  _nobody_  would know where we were, and now, we have a reporter of all mammals, here...HERE! My sister couldn't have just gone and dated a farmer like 75 of my other brothers and sisters have done," Judy threw her paws into the air, growling irritably. "But oh no, it's...a...reporter…" she growled through clenched teeth.

A rock on the ground became the subject of Judy's pent up ire, suddenly finding itself being kicked into the air and several dozen yards away. She heard very slow clapping behind her, and turned to watch Nick smiling at her, clapping his paws about as fast as Flash the sloth walks.

"I'd say a good kick there, Carrots, but I think you're target is still inside the house," Nick stated, pointing a paw towards the front door as he leaned against the wall of the Hopps' warren. Judy was about to reply, but instead sighed. She noticed Nick's voice held all the normal sarcasm, yet the twinkle in his eyes was missing, and with as low as his ears were, he was just as annoyed as she was.

Just putting on a mask to hide behind.

The annoyed rabbit sighed again. "This was supposed to be something only us, Bogo, and my family would know about not...the rest of the world. If anyone finds out...if, if the murderer, or murderers find out, they could come here, they could come after my family. I'm not even sure if they aren't already on their way here or…"

"Slow down, Carrots," Nick urged, placing his paws on the doe's shoulders, stopping her pacing in its tracks as she gazed up at the fox. "I'm just as concerned as you are,  _but_ , we need to keep calm. I'm sure we could talk Jack in there, out of telling anyone where we are. We don't need to go into details about the why's and the who's, but just enough to ask him to respect our privacy. We can say we are just here while I'm recuperating from on the job injuries, and it needs to stay out of the public eye." Nick smiled, trying to reassure the rabbit. "And I'm sure that if he doesn't respect  _us_ , enough to not tell anyone, I'm sure that we could simply convince Jessica to get him to comply."

"Are you certain of that?" Judy asked, her eyes filled with worry. Judy knew her sister like the back of her own paw. Jessica was probably the quickest to become angry out of all the Hopps' children, but also one of the flakiest when it came to keeping promises. So even if she did promise to reign Jack in, Judy didn't see a way that it would  _actually_  happen.

She felt Nick tug her gently towards him, and she gratefully accepting the closeness, leaning into the fox. Her heart was beating a mile a minute, and the slower heartbeat coming from Nick's chest was soothing. She breathed deeply, focusing on his heart's steady rhythm, feeling her own slow after a few moments.

Nick shrugged, though he moved his paws from Judy's shoulders to around her waist. "When are we ever one hundred percent positive about anything anymore, Carrots. Besides this, of course." Judy felt the fox pat her on her back, forcing a hint of laughter from her.

"At least that is one thing we agree on," Judy replied. She sighed into his chest. After a long silence between them. "And you know that when I decide on something," Judy said, her lavender eyes gazing into his green ones. "I don't give up on it."

Nick smiled, bringing Judy in even closer, placing a tender kiss between her ears. They stood there for several minutes, enjoying the peace each brought the other.

"Nick?" Judy finally said, breaking the silence.

"Yes?"

Judy hesitated, seeming to mull the question she had over in her mind before finally asking it. "When did life become so complicated…"

"About the time you threatened me with jail-time for tax evasion."

Judy let out a chuckle, "I'm being serious," she replied, half-heartedly slapping his chest. "Why isn't this simpler than it is? Why can't we just tell me parents about us? Why is there a mammal, or multiple mammals out there who are targeting us for being...us?"

The fox sighed, releasing the embrace they were in so he could better look Judy in her eyes. Her amethyst pools seemed slightly misty, and he could see the worry that hid behind them.

"Well, is life ever simple? No, no it is not."

Judy laughed, "Back to the old, answer their question with your own question and then answer that question, I see?"

Nick shook his head, chuckling softly. "You know me too well then, Judy."

Stating her name brought her eyes up to meet his own instantly, and Nick smiled. "The first to try something, usually are the ones who run into the most difficulties," Nick sighed. "I'm sure you, being the first rabbit officer, would know that all too well."

Judy laughed, brushing at her ears before looking down. "Same with you being the first fox officer as well, Slick." Judy replied, before lowering her gaze. "I guess I was just hoping that after we finally realized that we care about each other, that things would start being ok again." The rabbit rubbed her hindpaw across the ground. "Maybe it's the eternal optimist in me, but I still want to believe that even though life can be messy, it can also be simple at the same time. You know, a simple mess."

"A simple mess," Nick let the words play off his tongue before grinning. "You mean like your first attempt at pancakes on my stove?"

"Shut up!" Judy giggled, punching Nick's side, causing him to chuckle. "It wasn't that bad…"

"Seriously, Carrots? That was the simplest pancake mix I could buy; just add water. I even had you forego the blueberries, and yet you still somehow managed to get it to wind up on my ceiling."

"It came down," Judy grumbled, trying, and failing, at hiding a smile from the fox.

"Eventually," Nick cooed back, giving her a smirk.

"On your head," Judy finished, a fresh smile on her face. After several seconds of just looking at each other, Judy leaned forward and kissed her fox once more. As they separated, Judy leaned against Nick's chest.

"Whatever happens with this Jack fellow, or however our conversation goes with my parents, I just want to let you know, Nick…" she leaned back, staring him right in the eye. "I'm not going anywhere. I don't know a lot about how this will all work, or how relationships work in general, but it  _will_. We make good partners on the force, so I'm sure we'll figure out how to be good partners in this as well. And whether or not Jack lets the rest of the world know we're here, we'll figure out how to deal with it...and with Bogo if he tries to separate us at work, if it comes to that."

Nick smiled, before placing a chaste kiss on her forehead, before the rabbit nuzzled into his chest. He stroked her ears tenderly, looking out over the Hopp's family fields, nobody else nearby but themselves. He let the silence speak for itself, as it had a calming effect over both of them.

"I think we still need to make sure of his intentions," Nick finally stated, breaking the peaceful silence. "At least towards us, now that he knows we're here. I think he'll understand."

Judy simply nodded, allowing the silence to fill the air between them.

Until she started giggling.

"What's so funny, Carrots?"

"Well," she coyly replied, her eye taking on a half lidded expression that Nick found oh so adorable. "If he doesn't behave, like you said, we always have that ace up our sleeves in using my sister. She's been known to be quite,  _intimidating_ , when it came to  _convincing_  her previous boyfriends to do her bidding."

Nick barked in laughter, ruffling Judy's ears. "Oh, Carrots, my devious, sly, little bunny. That must run in the family, as I don't think any bunny could be more intimidating than you."

"In the best way possible," he quickly added, as her smile lowered, but ended up in a good natured smirk. Shaking her head, she lightly punched Nick's arm.

"Of course," she laughed. "I'll have to remember that when I need my apartment deloused next month."

Nick shivered. "I thought that was a free service?"

Judy's expression changed. Her eyes widened as she looked up at the fox, tracing small circles into the fur just above his loosened tie, with her finger. "Why would I want strange mammals in my room, when I could simply have you spend some alone time with me?" she purred. "I'd be all alone with such...animals, when instead I could, have you?"

Nick gaped at her. He finally realized his mouth was hanging open after several seconds, only to close it and chuckle. "Judy, Judy, Judy. Always my sly bunny."

"And that's why you love me, my big dumb fox," Judy replied, nuzzling her chin into his neck.

"You know I do," came his reply, as well as a brief kiss to Judy's forehead. "Now," Nick straightened, a smirk appearing on his face. "I believe we have some blueberry pancakes that still need to be consumed, a reporter to be managed, a sister to persuade, and some parents that deserve some attention from their favorite wayward daughter."

Judy smirked back. "And don't forget about the Kerfluffle, I'm sure they want some attention from a certain fox I know."

Nick nervously laughed as they walked back towards the front door of the house. "We'll see about that one, Carrots."

* * *

"Oh, you're back. You two were gone for quite some time."

Bonnie smiled at the pair as they walked back into the main sitting room of the Hopps' residence, separating their holding of paws as they entered, which bothered them both. Hopefully they wouldn't have to hide their relationship for  _too_  much longer.

"Oh, well, Nick here wanted to see just how large the house was from the outside, so we walked around it for a bit," Judy fibbed. It wasn't  _technically_  a lie, as they  _had_  walked around a bit of the house to find a quiet spot to talk, but it still felt strange to stretch the truth to her parents.

"Oh," Stu chuckled. "That can take a while. I remember when we used to do a walk-about here with Jude the Dude here when she was younger," Stu laughed, "just to tucker her out enough to get her to bed each night."

"Really?" Nick smirked, looking down at his partner. "What other things did you did  _Jude the Dude_ , do when she was a kit?"

"Oh, plenty," Stu replied back with an even greater laugh. "There was this one time when we found her with a large pumpkin and the hose…"

"That's enough of that," Judy interrupted, cutting off her father abruptly, her ears lowering behind her and her eyes going wide. "I think Nick, here, doesn't need to know about  _that_  story."

"Oh sure he does," Bonnie laughed. "That's my favorite story about you growing up. It sure scared the tar out of the neighbor kids, watching that pumpkin…"

"That's enough, mother!" Judy yelled, her cheeks the same color as Bonnie's cranberry juice and her ears having turned a nice, bright, shade of pink. She snuck a peek at Nick who was grinning at her.

"Why, Carrots, are you  _embarrassed_?"

Judy jabbed her elbow into Nick's side, with what must have been more force than she suspected, as the fox yelped and clutched his side. For a moment, his face showed the pain the elbow had caused, but just as quickly, his walls were back up and a fake smile plastered on his mug.

"You alright there, Nick?" Stu asked, as the dining room went quiet as nearly all eyes turned to the fox. Judy covered her mouth with her paws, only to reach one out and gently touch Nick's side where he had hurt his ribs.

"Could always be better," Nick replied placidly.

"I'm sorry, Nick." Judy exclaimed, rubbing his side. "I didn't mean to hit you that hard…"

"It's alright, Judy," Nick stated, placing his own paw over Judy's, patting it gently. "You bunnies, just don't know your own strength," Nick chuckled through slightly clenched teeth from the blow.

"What's wrong, Officer?"

Both rabbit and fox turned to the sound of the voice. Jack was staring at them curiously, one ear bent halfway down, while the other was straight up.

"Nothing important," Nick muttered, casting a quick glance at Judy. "Just an injury I sustained while doing police work."

"Seems like more than that," Jack replied. "How long ago was it?" He winced as Jessica gently slapped his shoulder, giving him a quick glare.

Nick's eyes narrowed. "A while."

"How long is, 'a while'?" Jack took a pen and paper out of his shirt pocket, clicking the tip as he prepared to write. "A day, two days, a week? Longer than that?"

Nick glared at the reporter, wondering how long the persnickety rabbit would last under the combined gaze of both himself and Jessica, as Judy's sister was giving him just as dirty a look.

"Long enough," Judy interrupted, giving both males a quick glance before turning to her parents. "It's...actually, the main reason why we're here," she continued, turning her attention to her parents whose attention was now directed to her. "The city can be kind of a crazy place, and since Nick here likes blueberries and we both had ample vacation time built up, we decided to take some time off to rest up here."

"Well why didn't you say so in the first place?" Bonnie asked, her eyes portraying her worry.

Judy shrugged, going full into acting mode. "We didn't see it as a big deal. We were planning on coming here eventually, so why not now?" she chirped merrily.

"Could you spare a few details, Ms Hopps?" Jack asked sweetly, seeming to hope that asking politely would gain an answer from the doe. "I'm always fascinated by homecomings stories. Care for an interview?"

"When we are inclined to give an official interview," Nick interrupted, glaring at the buck, "to a  _decent_  reporter, who  _politely_  arranges it in advance, instead of  _ambushing us at a family breakfast_ , then  _maybe_ , we'll share some details." Nick growled. It was only after the fox looked around, that he noticed many of the younger Hopps' children were staring at him with wide eyes, turning away quickly to avoid eye contact when he noticed them staring.

He sighed, realizing that a low growl had emanated deep from the back of his throat as he chastised the reporter. Now angry at himself for scaring Judy's siblings, he turned to his partner, watching her give him a calm-down motion with her paw under the table, before reaching over and giving his paw a gentle squeeze.

Jack flinched at the well-deserved verbal slap, recognizing how unprofessional his behaviour was, especially when he was there as a guest, rather than for work, saving him from the upraised paw that Jessica had just about smacked over the back of the rabbit's head. Still, junior reporters didn't get a lot of opportunities to break important stories, and something was telling Jack that there was more going on here.

_Maybe he'll get the hint now..._ Nick thought, glaring at the rabbit.

"I thought the two of you were involved in a fairly large case? Something to do with that murdered fox and hare? Oww!"

Jessica's paw came down swiftly on the back of Jack's head.

_Apparently not..._ Nick mused, slightly smirking at the pain of the rabbit.

Jack rubbed at his ears, which Jessica had just heartily smacked, and the doe was now glaring at the buck. "Jack, I know you're a reporter and all, but Judy here is my sister, and I won't have you bullying them with questions. Now no more questioning them as long as you are in my home, got it!"

"You two are investigating two murders?" Stu asked, his mouth agape. "And...and they were a fox and hare?"

"Oh no...please say you aren't in danger!" Bonnie asked, her paws over her mouth.

Judy inwardly grimaced, before turning to Nick. The fox had his mask on, but since she had been around him long enough, she could tell the gears in his mind were turning to see how to spin this newest revelation.

"Are we assisting other officers in solving that case so that we can gain valuable on-the-job experience? Yes, yes we are," Nick finally replied, answering calmly and slowly. "It seems Chief Bogo would like us to learn more about the different aspects of police work, and thought that by assigning us to work with some seasoned, and very reliable detectives, we might pick up a thing or two."

Nick took notice of Jack out of the corner of his eye and smirked. Nick hadn't revealed anything pertinent to the case, all while assuaging the fears of Judy's parents  _and_  seemed to have annoyed the reporter. The best reaction was the smile that Judy was beaming at him.

He straightened his tie, feeling his shirt becoming tighter under her attractive gaze.

Bonnie let out a big sigh of relief. "Well, I'm certainly glad to hear you're just being helpful. I'd hate to hear something bad happening to either of you. As long as you are working with experienced detectives, you should be ok. I'm still allowed to be worried though,"Bonnie continued, "but not as much anymore knowing my Bun-Bun is in good paws."

"So, how did you get injured, Nick? I mean, lots of things happen during police work." Stu asked, glancing at the fox.

"Minor incident during training," the fox cooly replied. "Wanted to see how well I could run on ice during a training run, though I guess the ice decided it wanted to be more up front and personal in our relationship. Just some bruised ribs and a major side-ache, nothing that some days off can't fix."

At that, a few chuckles came from some of the older Hopps' children around the table. Nick glanced towards Jack, who was idly tapping his pen against his notepad, scribbling notes onto the pad. Jack looked up to notice Nick making eye contact with the rabbit.

Jack gulped under the gaze.

"So nothing big enough for a story, nor anything that anyone could w _rite_  home about," Nick continued, staring down the reporter. "Just a  _minor_ accident...and some  _private_  vacation time to relax and recover with  _family_."

Nick noticed the nervous, but careful look Jack gave him, but the rabbit eventually nodded, seeming to understand the implications behind the fox's words. There were to be no stories about them being here sent back to Zootopia, and Jack clicked his pen off before placing it back into his pocket of his black sports coat.

"At least you're mostly alright, though I wish you were more careful," Bonnie chimed in again. "Judy needs a partner and that nice gentle-mammal at the hospital, what was his name, the hippo?" Bonnie said tepidly, tapping her paw to her chin.

"You mean Higgins?" Judy asked.

"Yes, that was it!" Bonnie exclaimed. "Higgins, let me know that you two are some of the best partners on the force and that nobody worked together, or looked after each other as well as you two do." Her expression suddenly saddened as she turned to Nick. "It made me feel just awful after how we treated you, Nick. It wasn't alright of us at all after he told us what you did to try and protect our daughter."

"Water under the bridge, ma'am." Nick replied all while using his fork to shuffle pieces of pancake around in the syrup on his plate. He still wasn't used to this sort of praise coming from anyone. Again, he was glad for his russet colored fur as he felt the beginnings of a blush creep into his cheeks.

Bonnie let out a sigh of relief and smiled. "Thank you Nick, you really are a kind mammal for all you do, especially for Judy."

"Heck, with how you treat Judy, if you were a rabbit, Nick, I'd be pleading with you to marry her!" Stu chuckled from behind his newspaper. "I'd even get the preacher down here today myself!"

Nick choked on the pancakes he just ate, and made a frantic grab for his drink, guzzling it down. Judy, on the other paw, looked frozen in place, her ears standing straight up as her eyes had widened, all while her cheeks turned the brightest red Nick had yet seen on her.

_That looks absolutely...cute..._ Nick thought, guzzling his water while eyeing his partner.

"Fa...father!" Judy finally managed to state as Nick coughed exhaled next to her, finishing of his water. He pounded his chest with his paw, still trying to expunge the last bits of pancake he had caught in his throat.

"Oh, don't worry about Stu, dear," Bonnie said. "He just wants to see little grandkits of yours sooner rather than later. I'm sure you'll find a nice rabbit and settle down soon enough."

"You sister Abigail already has nearly seventy-five of her own kits, so make it quick!" Stu chimed in.

Judy groaned. "Can we  _please_ , talk about anything besides this," as her ears fell behind her. Her cheeks felt like they were on fire. She glanced over at Nick, who had finally recovered from his coughing spell, for support. The fox sighed, tugging at his own tie, while Judy went back to staring at the table.

She felt the distinct need to smash her head into it at this point, thanks to this conversation. She paused, just before she gave into that temptation.

Now probably wasn't that bad of an opportunity to bring up her relationship with Nick to her parents, now that she thought about it. Well, it would have been if a certain reporter wasn't in the room with them. Judy inwardly groaned. She  _so_  wanted to let them know that Nick and her were partners, now in more ways than one, and let them know about that amazing news. The feelings of excitement welled up inside of her, and she just wanted them to know how she felt about Nick.

It was her father's statement that confused her though.

_'If you were a rabbit, Nick…"_

Why would that have any play in her decision on who to date? Judy wanted to ask, but after a secretive glance at Jack, who had again brought his pen out, and was dangling it over her penpad, she decided she didn't need to give the reporter and more tinder for a fire of a story to write.

Jessica seemed to have caught her sister's worried look toward Jack, and elbowed the white rabbit in his side. He let out a quick 'oww', before Jessica pointed at the pen in his paw, before snatching it from him. Jack laughed nervously, but put his notepad away, while muttering a quick and quiet apology to his girlfriend. Jessica smiled, then kissed the rabbit lightly on his cheek, causing his white fur to turn somewhat pink.

Judy smirked. Jack was clearly over his head when it came to dating her sister.

"Alright dear," Bonnie stated, taking Judy quickly from her thoughts as she felt her mother's paws on her shoulder. Her mother turned to look at Stu, "I think we'll not bring up the subject of wanting grandkits from Judy anymore while she is visiting, right  _Stewart Archibald Hopps_?"

The top half of the paper wilted, showing a nervous Stu. "Alright, I won't bring it up again." He gulped, looking at his wife. "Though I really wouldn't mind seeing some you know…"

A glare from Bonnie silenced the rest of the patriarch's statement, and he sheepishly brought the paper back up to hide behind it.

"Now," Bonnie exclaimed, turning her attention back to Nick and Judy. "If both of you could come with me, I think we have some injuries to go over and how best to help you heal, Nick."

It was much more of a directive, than anything else, and both Nick and Judy pushed themselves up from the table, following Bonnie into a side room.

As soon as they entered the room, Nick let out a groan at what he saw, while Judy smirked, giving the fox a half lidded stare.

Bonnie held a large blue ice pack in her paws, smiling at the fox. "With how many kids I've had, I know a thing or two about bruised ribs, Nick." She bounced the ice pad in her paws. "So for the next few days, I'll be making sure you'll have lots of alone time with Bruno here." She patted the ice pack as if it were a young kit.

"Uh, Bruno?" Nick asked, staring at the item. He was starting to loathe ice packs with a passion over the past few days. He shivered involuntarily just at the sight of... _It_.

_It's like a clown, but more horrifying._  Nick thought.

Bonnie nodded and smiled. "That's right, Bruno. With how many kits and grand-kits Stu and I have, and how often they hurt themselves, I ended up buying an ice pack for each litter, just in case I needed that many. So this one here was for my second litter and oh boy, did they ever need it!"

Nick nodded, both impressed at Bonnie's preparedness, and now confused as to what sort of activity Judy partook of growing up that would need twenty plus ice packs. He didn't imagine living on a farm could be  _that_  dangerous. Maybe a few stubbed toes from running into carrots or something...

"Now head off to your room, Nick, and I'll make sure nobody disturbs you while you spend some quality time with Bruno here."

Glancing at Judy, Nick noticed the smirk she had on.

"Not one word, Carrots. Not one word."

Judy giggled. "Well, I guess it was 'ice' knowing ya."

The fox groaned. "Carrots, we're going to have to work on your puns…"

She grinned even wider. "What, I thought that was a 'nice' one."

Nick just shook his head and walked away.

* * *

The combination of rest, and the ice pack named Bruno, although Nick referred to it as several other names besides that one, greatly aided Nick in his recovery, and by the fourth day into their visit to Bunnyburrow, the fox could once again jog without so much as a hitch in his side or straining to take a deep breath. The peace and quiet that the countryside of the Hopps' warren supplied, seemed to have a positive effect when it came to healing for him.

It was why he was now laying on one of the many sofa's in the central room of the home, watching several of Judy's nieces and nephews that made up the Kerfluffle, play the most interesting game of tag. It had taken several days for Nick to recover sufficiently in the eyes of Judy and Bonnie to be allowed out into the more active areas of the warren. Judy, because she was especially worried about him, Bonnie because she was worried, and had also noticed how wary some of her kits were of the fox after his growl at breakfast the first morning.

His spat with Jack during breakfast that first morning had caused quite a stir, especially among the younger kits. Nick was used to growling a little in Zootopia, he was a small mammal who worked with much larger ones. A little volume was required to get his point across. Clearly things were different in Bunnyburrow; with a much smaller predator population, and far fewer large mammals, his actions had looked far more aggressive than Nick had intended.

The Kerfluffle, which had originally been eying the fox with great curiosity, were much more timid when it came to being around him after that. Whenever he would enter the great room to exchange his ice pack for a new one, they would scatter, stopping whatever game they had been playing and running away, watching the fox from a safe distance. Nick had tried to appease the kits, but no amount of smiles and laughs seemed to do the trick. Thankfully, that moment for Nick to shine through came during dinner that night, courtesy of one of the youngest members of the Kerfluffle.

His worry all but dissipated during their first dinner in the warren. Nick had felt a tug at the hem of his shirt, just as he was about to stuff a fork full of roasted cabbage into his mouth. Looking down, he saw a tiny bunny, probably no older than two, staring up at him. The kit stared at him for a moment, before extending his paws up towards the fox, sucking on his binky all the while.

In all honesty, it kind of reminded him of how Finnick looked in his elephant onesie, something that Nick would be sure he'd never tell the fennec fox as he valued his life.

Feeling quite at a loss at what to do, he nudged Judy, who turned to look at him, only to glance downwards at her nephew, who was adorably trying to climb up Nick's seat.

Judy had let loose the most adorable 'aww' Nick had ever heard from her before, and nearly froze in shock when she said that little Austin, the baby rabbit's name, wanted to be held by none other than the 'scary' fox.

Before he had even had a chance to comprehend her statement, Judy had lifted up the baby rabbit and gently placed him in Nick's lap, with little Austin smiling into his binky as he looked up with bright amber eyes towards the fox. The baby rabbit turned and gave the fox a hug, before snuggling against him, falling quickly asleep.

Confusion reigning over his features, he nervously had given Judy a ' _what do I do now_?' look, only for her to bat a paw at him and tell him to  _'just let it happen_ '. Nick spent the next several minutes debating on whether to try and hand the tiny bunny over to Judy, or her parents, or try to wake the sleeping mammal. Eventually, and after what he thought was an adorable cooing sound coming from the kit, Nick settled for gently stroking the mammal's ears, smiling at the sleeping form on his lap intermittently while he ate.

It was after that experience that the Kerfluffle accepted the fox as one of its own. No more did they keep a wide berth from the fox, but anxiously ran up to meet him when they saw him, all asking to be carried, pestering him with questions, or asking him the most random of questions such as, " _How come you have such short ears for a rabbit?",_  to _"When are you and Aunty Judy getting married?"_

That second question had caused him to be frozen in place for nearly a minute as he carefully glanced around making sure that neither Bonnie or Stu were nearby, though it also caused several of the other kits to proclaim the bunny who asked the question had broken, 'Uncle Nick'.

With the benefits that came with growing closer to the entire Hopps' clan, also came a few unexpected downfalls. With the strangeness of having a fox in the Hopps' warren, many a kit had decided to sneak into his room to stare at Nick, making him a little nervous, as several times he had awoken to several large pairs of eyes staring at him in the darkness of his room. Other times, the more daring members of the Kerflufle attempting to grab his tail to play with it whenever he left his room for meals, or other excursions. Judy tried spending as much time as she could with her boyfriend, to protect him from the inquisitive Kerfluffle as somehow she commanded their utmost respect, however, with the blueberry harvest in full swing, she had been recruited as an able pawed member of the household to help gather in all the delicious berries for the festival coming up, leaving the lonely fox to fend for himself most hours of the day.

However, Nick was quick to find the benefits of Judy picking blueberries, as many of the delicious berries she picked, ended up being  _secretly_  delivered to her bed-ridden fox.

Nick hadn't minded that in the slightest. He had found that a blueberry kiss from Judy was simply divine.

Yet the time passed slowly for Nick, as the day after day routine of getting up, having breakfast, icing his stomach and chest, staring at the ceiling in his room, followed by a repeat of that schedule began to wear on him. Several times he had grown frustrated at being pampered like a wounded kit and had tried to help around the house with random chores, but Bonnie would have none of it. The matriarch of the Hopps' warren made it perfectly clear to Nick, as well as to Judy, that the fox was to spend as much time resting and recuperating so he could go back out there and protect her daughter as her able bodied partner.

And with the determined stare only a mother could give, Nick reluctantly agreed.

That stare had only come during the afternoon of the second day of his forced bed rest, after he managed to sneak out to the blueberry patch, unseen by any member of the Hopps' extended family. Nick blessed his luck, as no other bunnies were around Judy when he reached that particular section of the blueberry patch. Thus he had surprised her, sneaking up behind her, picking her up and twirling her around in the air before lathering her with kisses and nuzzles. After a quick scolding from Judy about what would happen if he was seen outside, and a shrug of his shoulders and a comment about how he missed her so  _very_  much, she relented as he settled down next to her, helping her to pick berries.

Well, and also eat a few...dozen.

The moment didn't last as long as either would have liked as apparently, with how many rabbits still lived in the warren, it wasn't long before one of Judy's siblings stumbled upon them picking blueberries, and most likely at Bonnie's request, like a swarm of moths to the flame, the Hopps' Kerfluffle found him, hoisted him above their heads, and carried the frantic fox away from a hysterically laughing Judy.

Nick did manage to get his revenge on his laughing bunny later that evening. For the mere bribe of eleven pieces of broccoli and a cucumber wedge from his plate, he managed to convince enough members of the Kerfluffle of his idea. When he was forced into his solitary confinement after dinner, he winked at the leader of his 'posse', letting the bunny know it was time to implement, 'the plan'.

The fox had barely settled into bed, folding his paws behind his head and humming quietly to himself as the door burst open and a horde of bunnies hopped through it, carrying a giggling Judy above their heads, plopping the female rabbit down right on top of the bed next to the smirking fox. He gave the young bunnies a thumbs up before they left, making sure all were gone before he grabbed Judy closer to him, bringing her in for a quick kiss and an extended nuzzling session, as their earlier one had heinously been cut short, in both of their opinions.

Even with most of the attention on himself and his healing, Nick did make sure to keep up on how Judy was doing as well. She had lost an organ, after all, during their initial hospital visit, and that wasn't something to take lightly! Sure it was an appendix, and a generally useless organ at that, but still! The thought that he had bruised ribs and an abdominal strain, and was getting the icy treatment he was having to endure, while she was bouncing around like normal after having an organ taken out of her, gnawed at him. He knew the recovery time for an appendectomy was short, but Nick was still concerned she might be pushing herself too hard again. The moment from Furzer came to his mind too often when she had stated she nearly pushed her heart to stop, and he hated to think it could happen again.

Honestly, Nick worried about Judy, now more than ever. She may be good at hiding the pain she felt from her parents and siblings, but Nick saw it. Every now and then when he saw Judy running towards him after a long day at the blueberry patch, he could see the fleeting grimace on her face, or the way she would rub absently at her side while they snuggled. It pained him to see her trying to hide it, putting on a brave face so that her mother wouldn't worry about her.

It was why, during the morning breakfast of his third day of bedrest, he had asked if he could have a second ice pack when Judy was around, his excuse being that it might help him heal faster, as two was better than one. In reality, it was so that he could convince Judy to start looking after herself more, and wear the ice pack like a badge of pride. It only took a quick Zoogle search on Nick's phone to show the rabbit that it takes two to three weeks for a mammal to recover from an appendectomy, and the way she was pushing herself, she could do irreparable harm to her body. The fact that Doctor Lutrinae would be coming to look over  _both_  of them, not just Nick, in just four more days, finally pushed the bunny over the edge in deciding to use the ice pack as well.

It may have also helped with his arguments that Nick said she could lay next to him on his bed if she did. She'd ran off immediately, coming back a few minutes later with a second ice pack, Jessica's laptop and a copy of Pig Hero 6, grinning from ear to ear as she snuggled next to her fox, while he wrapped an arm comfortably around her.

After they finished watching the movie, Nick had decided he was quite well fed up with staring at the walls of his room and wanted to spend more time with Judy out of it to see her home, and requested of Bonnie to be able to move into the massive living room area. The Hopp's matriarch reluctantly agreed, at the insistence of Judy, and Nick now could be found throughout each day resting on a couch in front of a massive 72 inch plasma screen tv, playing Super Bash Mammals with several of the younger members of the Hopp's family. He managed to win each and every game, no matter how many times the younger rabbits tried teaming up on him...until Judy walked in and smoked him in a three life match without losing a single one herself. Nick had gaped at her, as the twirled the remote in her hand, blowing on it like a gun before using an oh so familiar line on him.

_"It's called a hustle, Sweetheart. I'm the Hopps' family champion at Bash."_

Overall, it wasn't a bad experience, having to be inside the Hopps' home for so long. The only thing that Nick really missed was the privacy to spend more time with the one rabbit he missed so much, Judy.

And Judy was feeling the strain of keeping their relationship hidden just as much as Nick was, as by the fourth day into their visit, she greatly missed the ability to simple grab Nick whenever she wanted to and pepper him with kisses and affection like back at their safe house. For him to stroke his paws over her ears, or for her to grab him close and be able to just sit and listen to his heart, beating a steady rhythm that she found lulled her to perfect contentment.

They had  _almost_ been caught once snuggling together on Nick's bed on the fourth day into their trip. Bonnie was checking up on Nick, and had forgotten to knock on the door before waltzing in, stumbling upon Nick and Judy sharing a passionate kiss, the pair thinking they finally had some solitude to show each other the affection they both so dearly had missed. Thankfully, with the lights off, the older rabbit couldn't see a thing, and Nick and Judy managed to separate before the lights had been turned on.

Bonnie  _did_ have a rather amused expression as she left though, dropping off two mugs of hot cocoa with bunny shaped marshmallows floating in them. As she left, she  _had_  mentioned about them ' _being good',_  which caused both of them to scoot a little further away from each other in case she came back again. They didn't want to cause a scene after all, as they wanted to plan the perfect way to share with her parents that they were a couple. Bonnie and Stu already thought well of him, judging by their reactions of how he interacted with the younger kits and helped around the house.

The fox found the young rabbits to be quite fun to be around. Their bright eyes and joyous attitude reminded him greatly of Judy. Austin seemed to have connected with Nick the most, and whenever the bunny couldn't be found for his nap time, he would always be found snuggled into Nick's arms, with both fox and kit fast asleep.

The first time Judy saw it, she thought it was the most tender thing she had ever seen, and had walked away wondering what it might be like to raise a family with Nick if, or more hopefully  _when_ , that would happen.  _That_  was a thought passing through her mind more and more, and it both made her nervous, but excited, about the future possibilities that she could have with Nick by her side.

Nick was steadily becoming more and more accepted in the Hopps' home thanks to his budding ties with the Kerfluffle, though there were still a few members of his partner's family, and a certain guest, that caused him casual concern. Jessica, Judy's sister, still unnerved him with how she cast certain glances his direction, or batted her eyes whenever she was near the fox and Jack wasn't in her presence, or away in town. He slowly began understanding the warning Judy gave him about her, that she'd flirt with anything that moved, whether they were taken, or not. After several 'accidental' touches of his tail, however, Nick brought Judy aside, and asked if she could talk to her sister for him, describing his, ' _close encounters of the perturbed kind_ '. During his discussion with Judy, he noticed her eyes narrowing, her ears slowly lowering until she raised a paw silencing him mid-sentence, saying she'd have a nice 'chat' with Jessica, and swiftly left to find her sister.

Nick hadn't seen as much as a batted eyelash from Jessica after that ' _talk_ ' to his relief.

Though his relief was short-lived, as how one problem was solved, another soon cropped up to take his place. For the first few days, Jack Pawson seemed to honor the silent agreement not to disturb either Nick or Judy, however, as the days progressed, both Nick and Judy noticed an increasing amount of nervousness coming from the reporter when they were in his presence.

It was why Nick found himself laying on this couch, thinking and pondering about the past few days. The main thought running through his mind was on how Judy and him would tell her parents about their relationship, all while keeping it a secret from the reporter bunny. The fox was sure that Bonnie probably knew something was up by now, especially after her 'accidentally' walking in on them with hot cocoa. It was nearly eighty degrees outside and was the end of summer, so he knew deep in his heart that the cocoa was just an excuse to see what Judy and him were up to together.

Call it his old hustler's intuition.

At least she still seemed cordial to him, so if she disapproved, she hadn't outwardly shown it. Stu, on the other hand, was a complete unknown to Nick on where the rabbit potentially stood on his and Judy's relationship. The only fact he could go on was his comment, ' _if only you were a rabbit'._

He didn't have long to pause on such a thought, as a semi-loud 'ahem' behind him startled him from his thoughts. Nick's scowl was in place before he even turned his head to see who it was.

"What is it, Jack?" Nick asked, his tone barely friendly as he still didn't like the rabbit. Not only because he was a reporter but...well, mostly because of that little tidbit.

"So…" Jack had began, scratching at his ears. "I know it was kind of agreed that I wouldn't ask for an interview, but, would it be possible to ask a few questions off the record?"

Nick glared at him, staring him down for several moments before offering his curt reply.

"No."

"Right, of course…" Jack laughed nervously.

Nick got up from the couch, and searched for a place he could escape from the reporter for a while. He spied the door to the bathroom.

_That will do nicely_...Nick thought. He ambled towards the door, Jack persistently following him.

"Right, well, maybe just a short question about-"

"Sorry Jack," Nick stated, pulling open the door to the restroom. "I have an urgent interview I need to attend to in here," Nick replied, cutting off the rabbit, before slamming the door behind him.

"What if more reporters come here asking for interviews!" Jack yelled through the door, giving the fox pause. He reopened the door slowly.

"What did you say, Jack? About reporters coming here?" His voice was cold, and Nick's mask of indifference caused the rabbit reporter to quiver slightly.

"No...nothing. Nobody's coming here, I mean, why would they, heheh…"

Nick glared at Jack, but before he could question the rabbit further, Jack darted down the hall and disappeared into the mass of bunnies in the great room.

It was with that line of questioning, Nick left to find Judy. His hustler's intuition sense was tingling, and he didn't like it.

* * *

"I'm telling you, something's up with Jack. He knows something that we don't, and I don't like it."

Judy rubbed her head, listening to her partner who was venting about Jack.

"Something about him just doesn't add up," Nick growled, pacing back and forth across his guest bedroom while Judy sat cross-legged on his bed. "And you know I'm a good judge of mammals."

"You pegged me at first glance," Judy stated wryly. Nick paused for a moment, then sighed heavily, the memory of  _that_  conversation they had their very first day they met coming to the forefront of his mind. Judy smiled, then hopped off the chair she was sitting on and walked over to Nick. The pair were again in Nick's guest bedroom with the door shut, grateful that the Kerfluffle were busy outside with the warm weather that came at the end of the summer. Nick turned to Judy, who grasped both of his paws in her own.

"I trust you when you say that something is slippery about him," Judy sighed, searching Nick's eyes with her own. "I keep getting this odd feeling when he's around, like he isn't being completely honest with us, at least about what he wants and why he's here." Judy looked down at their connected paws, offering a small laugh. "Though from what Jessica has said about him, she has thoroughly vetted and grilled him about his intentions towards us." She again looked up, smiling coyly and Nick began to chuckle.

"And she's quite feisty when she's angry, kind of like another bunny I know…"

His sentence was shortened as Judy pushed their connected paws directly into his stomach like a double-paw punch. She giggled as Nick collapsed backwards on his bed, and while still holding paws, the fox yanked her forwards and on top of him. Both laughed as paws separated, only to reconnect through a tight hug.

They laid there for a while, simply enjoying each other's company and warmth. Judy could hear, as well as feel, the fox's heartbeat while she laid above him, while Nick gently stroked her ears. Judy purred in delight at the sensation, gripping her paws around Nick even tighter as a deep, throaty laugh came from the fox.

"Aren't we the strangest couple?" Nick guffawed, his laughter growing louder.

"I already knew you were a bit out there, Nick, but don't bring me in on this," Judy shot back, a sly smile on her face.

"No, I mean in just how quickly we went from frazzled about Jack, to simply being content in each other's arm. It's like we've been married for fifty years or something." Nick continued stroking Judy's ears as the bunny leaned on her elbows atop him to get a better look into his eyes.

"Which I don't mind that thought at all, of course," Nick added, smirking softly towards Judy. He leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss upon her lips, causing a massive blush to appear in her cheeks and ears.

"Why Nick, is that a proposition?" Judy exclaimed, raising a paw over her mouth in shocked amusement. "I would have thought you'd have come up with something wittier, and much more unfiltered. And with a ring at least."

Nick laughed. "You mean you use rings out here in the country? I thought you just nibbled a carrot into a hoop and wore that."

Judy socked him in his shoulder, gaining laughter from both of them. "Oh hush, you," she exclaimed. "We just do that for promise rings, you know, so if they don't come true we could just eat them and be down with them."

"You serious, Carrots?" Nick asked, perplexed and with confusion across his face.

The rabbit shook her head, giggling madly. "For a fox you are quite gullible, you know that right, Nick?"

Nick glared at her, though with the hints of a smile tugging at his lips. "Oh, is today National mess with foxes day?"

Judy nodded, letting her feet sway idly above her. "I thought you knew that, Slick?"

"Oh, I thought it was national mess with a rabbit day?" Nick grinned.

Suddenly, Judy felt two paws grab her around her side, and soon found herself underneath her favorite fox, who was slying grinning above her. "And I think for all those deceitful things you told me, you are in need of a little 'messing' with."

Judy tried to stifle her giggles, as Nick paws and tips of his claws began rummaging across her stomach and sides.

"St..stop it Nick," she spluttered, trying to hold back her laughter as Nick mercilessly tickled her.

"Nope, it's the only weakness I know you have, Fluff," Nick laughed. "And I ain't stopping, Carrots."

Judy was laughing loudly now, trying to fight off Nick's playful paws across her stomach. "Well, I know your weakness," Judy giggled, finally managing to grab Nick's paws.

"And what is that?" Nick asked coyly, settling down on his elbows above Judy.

"This," Judy exclaimed.

Nick soon found Judy's lips pressed against his own. Quickly he returned the kiss, his arms instead of tickling Judy's side, now caressing her back slowly. The kiss between them quickly became two, then more as they found themselves enveloped in each other's caresses.

Enough so that Nick didn't even hear the door open.

Both him and Judy  _did_  hear the voice from the doorframe, and they froze mid-kiss.

"So, when I went into town, it was overrun with reporters, so I'd try to stay away from there if...I...were...you…"

Jessica paused, looking up from her phone.

Her phone dropped to the floor and her eyes went wide. It was at that moment, both Nick and Judy noticed someone else had entered the room. Both Nick and Judy's heads turned slowly, their eyes wide in shock as they took in the intruder into their sanctum.

"I... _knew it!_ " Jessica screamed! "I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!"

Judy pushed Nick off of her, waving her paws in front of her. "It wasn't what you think you saw!"

Nick stared at Judy, who turned to look nervously back at the fox. "Sorry, I...I mean it was, but, it wasn't...oh cheese and crackers!"

"Oh," Jessica smirked, leaning over to pick her dropped phone off the floor. "I'm pretty sure it was. You tell Dad and Mom yet?"

"Or Pop-Pop?" Jessica added quickly with a wicked looking smile. "Oh, this is so  _juicy!_  Judy, spill now, girl!"

"What was it you said when you made such an  _unwelcome_  entrance into my guest room." Nick growled, greatly annoyed at the rabbits entrance.

"Oh," Jessica laughed, waving a paw towards the couple. "A bunch of reporters have shown up in town looking for you two. Apparently you're famous or something and someone tipped them off you were here."

Judy's jaw dropped. The lapine turned to look at Nick, whose eyebrows had narrowed and a scowl was firmly set onto his face.

"I think I know who may be responsible with that, eh Carrots?" Nick drawled. The fox looked towards Jessica, and though this particular glare was enough to silence Chief Bogo the first time he met the water buffalo, it barely made a dent in Jessica's smirk.

"And who would that be, handsome?" Jessica giggled.

Judy glared at her sister. "Jessica...what did we talk about?"

Jessica waved her paw at Judy, "Oh hush, you know I don't mean it. Besides, I have a fluff-butt of my own."

"By the way, where is your  _Fluff-butt_." Nick growled.

"I don't know," Jessica shrugged, typing out a text on her phone. "Why do you ask?"

"Because he's the most likely reason those reporters are looking for us." Judy huffed. If reporters knew that they were there, then the whole reason of them keeping their visit a secret to keep them safe from whoever was after them, was now shot to pieces.

Jessica's fingers paused mid-text, and to Judy, she recognized the slight twitch of her eyebrow from when they were younger.

It usually signalled one of three things.

First, that someone was about to have their ears yelled off.

Second, that someone was about to find themselves at the receiving end of a rabbit kick.

Third, both of the above.

Jessica's paw gripped her phone tightly. "Oh, he is, is he?"

Judy nodded, readying herself in case she had become of the object of her sister's rage. Judy's sister turned on a dime and marched out of the room and down the hallway towards the main door leading to the large living room. Nick and Judy followed behind her, keeping a safe distance from the angry lapine.

The door that connected the 'J' corridor to the main living area slammed open, startling several young rabbits who sat watching tv nearby. It wasn't nearly as frightening at the loud scream that followed, which caused Judy to clamp her paws over her ears, while Nick whined in pain.

" _JACK STEPHANOPOULOS PAWSON! GET YOUR FLUFFY BUTT IN HERE, RIGHT NOW!"_

Nick looked at Judy, still wincing as Jessica stormed into the great room.

"And I thought you were scary when you were angry." 


	23. A Fine Mess

 

"Jack Stephanopoulos Pawson, what have you done!"

The white bunny rubbed at his arm where Jessica had punched him. Jack was also trying to avoid her gaze, as she was shooting him a glare that rivalled Judy's own. Nick would have pitied the reporter, if it wasn't for the swarm of  _other_  reporters apparently besieging Bunnyburrow due to Jack's actions. Jack seemed to be someone trying to put on a bold front, though with large cracks in his emotional facade showing through to the remorse underneath.

_That glare must have been a Hopps' family trait_ , thought Nick, studying the scene before him as he tried to figure out exactly how Judy and him would confront this new situation. Not only was their secret getaway suddenly less than secret, but now Judy's own family could be in jeopardy, if whoever was after them decided to follow the trail of reporters to her home. Nick felt a deep well of anger boiling up inside of him at Jack's actions. Sure, it was his job to report on the news, but Judy and him visiting Bunnyburrow was hardly newsworthy! It would profit his career nothing in the long run to cause this sort of turmoil in their lives.

The fox tried to calm himself as Jack and Jessica were busy arguing. Their lovey-dovey behavior from the past few days was now nowhere to be seen. Most of what he'd observed, generally from when the couple would loudly blunder past Nick's napping spots in the great room, was Jessica blushing or giggling madly at something the male rabbit had said. From the way Bonnie and Stu were gushing about Jack during meals, there must have been something desirable about the guy, though right now, Nick was blinded to  _any_ positive qualities the rabbit may have by his own anger.

His glare deepened towards Jack. Because of this rabbit, the mammal who was behind the threats and murders in Zootopia would know  _exactly_  where to go to find them. With how well known the Hopps Family Farm was, as Nick had even seen their produce in Zootopia from time to time, it would be as easy as pie to follow them here, find some of Judy's family members, and use them to get to Judy and him…

Nick shook his head, trying to mentally erase that thought. Ever since this whole murder spree had begun, Nick had felt the growing need to make sure nothing happened to his partner, and now, after being around her family, that nothing would happen to them as well. He wasn't sure if it had to do with his feelings towards Judy, or just his instincts in general.

Almost from the beginning of their partnership, Nick had felt protective of Judy. Excepting those few times when the rabbit got truly angry about something, in which case Nick felt he needed to be protected  _from_  Judy. He hadn't known why for the longest time, it was just a need he had to satisfy. That proverbial itch to scratch. His first thoughts after they escaped from Cliffside after they first met, was making sure Judy was alright after their plunge into the river. Each and every chase they were a part of since then, after he joined the force, his first thoughts were on how to end it quickly, and without any harm coming to his partner.

That feeling of wanting to protect those around him...he had felt it when working with Finnick, but nowhere near to the extent he felt it affecting him towards his beloved, amethyst-eyed bunny.

_I need to control these feelings..._ Nick thought, taking in a deep breath, trying to push his anger away. Wanting to protect your partner was one thing, but letting it consume his thoughts at the expense of everything else was going to get him into trouble. If Bogo even had a hint that they were distracting his mind while on the job, the water buffalo would separate them faster than Clawhauser could eat through a box of donuts.

Several deep, soothing breaths later, Nick felt much calmer. He was still angry at Jack. Oh boy was he angry at him, but at least now he could focus on what was going on around him, and not simply focusing on just how good it would feel to smash his paw into the reporter's face.

"I'm sorry," the black striped bunny stated mutely, as Jessica huffed and walked a few steps away from her boyfriend. Nick glanced over at the pair, realizing he must have missed a good deal of the conversation while he was deep in thought. Jack was standing in the center of the guest bedroom, Jessica on one side of him, Nick on the other and Judy standing by the door. Judy's face was currently unreadable to Nick. He could tell that Judy wasn't happy with the current situation, but beyond that, he didn't know what was on her mind. She appeared deep in thought, and probably had already gone through at least a dozen scenarios on how to turn this situation around to their advantage. He'd have to ask her about it later, when Jack and Jessica weren't in the room with them.

"Look, when I saw you two on the train, I thought it was an opportunity, alright?" he motioned at Nick and Judy, "I'm fairly new on the job in Zootopia. I've been a journalist for a while, but not in the big city. Guys on the bottom of the totem pole don't get a lot of opportunities to interview people in the limelight. You two are the Heroes of Zootopia! Up and coming officers, involved in big cases, blazing trails for species not known for policing." Jack became more animated with each statement, his paws gesticulating wildly as a smile crept upon his face.

"I admire that! Since I figured we'd be spending some time together here at the farm, I thought I could talk my way around to an interview, get to put my byline on an article mammals would really want to read. I called my boss to let him know I was going to try and get an interview, but…" Jack trailed off before giving a hesitant laugh. "I didn't know he'd be making it a series. Maybe he wanted to build up some interest for my hypothetical interview by reviewing your past accomplishments. Prime the pump, so to speak." Jack sat down on the corner of the bed, breathing in deeply, before continuing.

"He didn't ask me about that, and for all I know, it was a planned article even before I told him about angling for an interview...I'm sorry if it caused either of you any inconvenience," he raised his head, "but I'm  _not_  going to apologize for doing my job. Literally the  _only_  thing I told him was that I might get a chance to interview you while I was in Bunnyburrow. No promises, no pressure!"

"So you were the rabbit I saw on the train," Nick mused, shaking his head. "Why didn't you approach us there? All of this could have just been avoided if you had simply talked to us back then."

"I don't know!" Jack threw his paws into the air, before letting them fall to his sides. "You two just looked so comfortable up there in the skybox. Plus, it was late, and if you'd finished a long day of policing, I didn't want to bother you. It's considered bad form to ambush people for an interview, especially if you want it to be a positive one and I didn't want to disturb you and start off our first meeting by me being a jerk. I'm not that kind of reporter."

An uneasy silence filled the room as everyone waited for Jack to begin speaking again. The male rabbit finally rounded his shoulders, looking up, first at Nick, then towards Judy.

The fox didn't miss the visible twitch of the male rabbit's nose.

"Then, at breakfast, you had such a strong reaction to me after just asking a few questions… I certainly wasn't going to ask for an interview right then, you'd have turned me down for sure! I was hoping things would settle down and I could get another chance to approach you both…"

"So you didn't know about this?"

Jessica raised her iCarrot tablet for Judy, Nick and Jack to see. On it, was a front page story with the headline,  _"A Break for the Heroes of Zootopia"_ , with a large picture of both Nick and Judy smiling in their dress blues. Nick, Judy, and Jessica had all read the story while they had sent the Kerfluffle out to hunt down Jack, who was eventually found on a phone call in a far corner of 'Z' hall. The swarm of bunnies had quickly overwhelmed him, and brought him to the current guest bedroom where they all now stood. The article itself wasn't bad, actually. Just heaping more praise onto the fox and rabbit and showcasing their recent accomplishments.

Only the part where it listed their current location as being in Bunnyburrow, was the issue to Nick and Judy.

Jack turned his attention to the fox, his paws stretched towards him, "I didn't know anything about that, I swear! I haven't talked with my boss since the train. Since I didn't even know if you would agree to an interview, there was no set time frame on when I would touch base with the head office. Being a reporter has been my dream since I was a kit," Jack stated, motioning with his paws. The buck was on a roll now, and the words were just filtering uncensored from his mouth.

"I  _certainly_  wasn't going to call my boss with an update saying, 'they're really tense, so I haven't worked up the nerve to ask them about an interview yet'. How do you think  _that_  would have gone down for me? It sure wouldn't have gotten me assigned to any future interviews! Hence the waiting and hoping you would calm down and I'd get a chance to ask in a few days."

Again the rabbit let out a heavy sigh, eyeing the carpet while it appeared he was trying to think of what to say next. Eventually, he looked back up, and stared directly at Judy.

"How would you like it if your first major assignment was considered a failure by your boss and could cost you your job? A dream of a lifetime, shattered," Jack snapped his fingers, "just like that."

Judy flinched at that last comment, as it struck to her heart. She  _knew_  the feeling Jack was going through all too well. The field of journalism was much easier to get into as a smaller mammal, yet most of the time, unless a smaller mammal was hired for the RNN, the Rodentia News Network, they mostly were given the task of handling equipment, cameras, or other tasks that made use of their size, rather than having them in front of the camera, or in print. For him to mess up his first big assignment, especially one that he had initially suggested to his boss, reminded Judy of her own situation not so long ago, where she had nearly lost her own job while on the case of finding the missing otter, Emmett Otterton. A case she  _insisted_  on taking.

Though with Jack, he didn't seem to have a 'Nick' to back him up, and it was  _that_  thought, which currently weighed heavily on her heart and mind.

It was then, a thought struck her, that caused her to lose even more of her anger and frustration towards the reporter.

Jack was simply trying to do his job the only way he knew how. Trying to follow his dream, when others didn't care about him,  _or_  his dreams. He was just trying to make the world a better place, in his own unique way.

After hearing his explanations, it seemed like he'd even been pretty considerate of her and Nick's mental state. She hadn't noticed him pressuring either of them with any questions since Nick had snapped at him at that first breakfast. Judy  _still_  felt irritated by how this whole situation had played out, especially with the potential danger this could bring to her family,  _yet_ , she just felt unjust pinning that frustration on  _Jack_. He couldn't have known about the latest threats against them back in Zootopia, as those had been kept from the press, to as much an extent as possible.

And Jack  _certainly_  wouldn't have know anything about the  _real_  reasons why they came out to Bunnyburrow. The only mammals that knew that Nick, and herself, were here for safety reasons were in the ZPD: Chief Bogo, and Detectives Fangmeyer and Delgato. To Jack, Nick and her trip here was a vacation, and perhaps an opportunity to show his boss he could make it as a reporter, not something that could endanger Nick, herself and her entire family in the process.

She sighed, about to speak, when Jessica beat her to it.

"That's all you have to say for yourself?" Jessica yelled, causing Jack to wince. "Nick and Judy were here for a relaxing family visit, not to be harassed by reporters, no matter how well-intentioned. You ruin the vacation for my sister and her boy…" Jessica caught herself as both Nick and Judy's eyes widened. She snuck a quick glance at Judy before continuing.

"For Judy and her,  _partner,"_ she placed heavy emphasis on that last word, that led to Judy face-palming herself and giving a slight groan, "by planning to selfishly pressure them for an interview, and all you have to say is, ' _Sorry, I wanted to climb the ladder of success and tried to use my girlfriend's sister and partner as stepping stones_?'"

The female rabbit growled, before throwing her paws into the air. "And now the town is filled with reporters who will be all over them the moment they leave the house! You know I adore you, but," she pointed at Jack while shaking her head. "I can't...I can't even look at you right now. I'm sorry..."

Jessica stormed towards the door. Judy hadn't budged, but her ears pointed up when Jessica motioned for her to move aside to let her pass.

"Where are you going?" Judy asked, stepping aside from in front of the door.

"I need to clear my head a bit," Jessica huffed, stealing a glance back at Jack.

With a final glare, Jessica stormed from the guest bedroom where the four mammals had gathered, casting one last glance inside, narrowing her eyes at Jack. "And he better not be bothering you when I come back."

She slammed the door behind her.

Judy shook her head, turning her attention back towards Jack. Her mind had suddenly become quite conflicted in how he viewed him. She understood he messed up, and messed up badly, causing all sorts of problems now for both herself, and Nick. They had come to her home expecting a safe place, far away from prying eyes, so that both of them could recover while Fangmeyer and Delgato worked the investigation into whoever was trying to kill them. Yet, like the best laid plans, it had all gone wrong before they had even gotten off the train.

But on the other paw…

A loud sigh broke her concentration.

"I'm sorry for the problems I've caused. I never expected this media circus,and neither of you deserve to have _that_  interrupting your vacation," Jack muttered, rubbing his arm while looking down at the floor. He suddenly growled and rubbed his ears. "Guess I need to apologize to Jessica next." He made a beeline for the door but was halted by a red furred arm blocking his path.

"Nu, uh. You're not getting out of this that easily, rabbit."

Jack stared up at the fox, and the contrite expression morphed into one of frustration under Nick's gaze.

"Look, I've already apologized for what happened. But like I said, it's not  _my_  fault that the public is interested in you two. Like it or not, you're celebrities that  _are_  newsworthy, and in a  _good_  way! I didn't intend to interrupt your vacation, but I'm not in control of all those reporters in town, and I  _didn't_  write the article that sent them here! I don't know what you want from me, than what I've already told you."

"Can you undo the mistakes you've made that have caused us massive frustration? No, no there is not." Nick semi-growled, running his paw across his ears before he turned back to face Jack. "Do you even know what danger you've put this family in?" Nick asked, his voice rising with each word.

"I know I can do  _something_  to help, if you'll let me. Jack replied heatedly, clearly not willing to accept the blame for everything upsetting Nick. "And if you're…"

"No, I think you've done quite well with the mess you made," Nick replied, cutting Jack off abruptly. "Let's see here," Nick placed a paw in front of him, pointing towards one of his fingers. "Oopsie number one, deciding to butt your cute fluffy head where it didn't belong," Nick stated while he took a step forward, causing Jack to take a step back.

"Which lead to oopsie number two...thinking you had the right to interview us just because Judy's sister gave you easy access, and informing your boss you would do that without asking us first." Nick's glare intensified as he took another step forward, and as he raised a third finger. Jack took another step backwards, only to bump into the wall. His head turned to see the obstacle, then turned forward, only to see Nick mere inches away from him.

"And last, but  _certainly_ not least, we come to oopsie number threesie, allowing your privileged-via-family knowledge of our whereabouts, our intended  _relaxing vacation_  whereabouts, to be spread far and wide so any Tom, Dick or Harry could waltz into town and harass us..."

"Nick," Judy suddenly stated quite sternly. Nick slowly turned.

"Yes, Carrots?" he said in a rather annoyed tone. He froze at the look she gave him, feeling suddenly bad about his tone and shook his head. "Sorry, I just have a lot on my mind thanks to this dumb bunny," he replied with a much softer inflection to his voice.

"Can I speak with you for a moment...outside?"

It wasn't a question. Nick gave a last glance at Jack before he sauntered towards the door, opening it for Judy who closed it behind her.

She quickly turned to face Nick.

"What are you doing in there, Nick?"

"What am I doing? I'm giving that useless rabbit a piece of my mind!" Nick nearly shouted back, waving his paws in the air. "What are you doing sticking up for that creep? He's endangered your  _entire family_  with what he's done."

"Nick! Quieter, please!" Judy hissed, grabbing the fox's paw and walking further down the hallway, her eyes darting this way and that to make sure they were alone. She came to the last bedroom and walked in, thankful that none of her siblings were inside, before tugging Nick in after her, before firmly shutting the door. Soundproofing in the Hopps' household was a high priority, and unless someone was right outside with an ear to the door, they should have at least  _some_  relative privacy. She rubbed at her ears, before sending a glare at Nick.

"Don't think I'm taking his side just because I'm not creating a scene. I'm just as cheesed off as you are, probably more so, considering the danger he put my family in. Now, not only are  _we_  not safe, but potentially any member of my family could become a target, since we don't even know what he, she, or them, even want!" Judy groaned in irritation at the situation. "I know he didn't do this on purpose and I'm trying to let that calm me down, but," she pointed a paw at Nick and narrowed her eyes. "You getting mad at him isn't helping. I want to rip him up one way and down another, but we need to take a step back and figure this out."

"Which is why we're now in here, and you're yelling at me, instead of him," Nick growled, pointing his paw towards the guest room where Jack resided.

"I'm not yelling at you," she shouted, though right after the words left her mouth, she realized she was indeed, yelling at him. Judy looked at Nick, only to see him rolling his eyes at her.

"Sure, that's exactly what you don't call what you just did."

Judy had a retort at the tip of her tongue, but closed her mouth, opting instead to stay silent. She glanced down at her paws, realizing what had just occurred between them.

"Are we really doing this?" Judy asked, chancing a glance up at Nick, her eyes betraying the tumultuous emotions raging behind her violet eyes.

"Doing what?" Nick yelled, exasperbated with the conversation. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall before looking at his partner and saw…

_Is she...sad?_

His anger instantly wilted, replaced by guilt. He'd let his emotions get to him, and in the heat of the moment, had let it all out on Judy. His girlfriend, his partner, his better half. That look in her eyes was the same he saw in the ambulance nearly a week ago. Confusion, mixed with hurt and a dash of cynicism towards life that Nick felt was never appropriate for Judy to have.

In a flash he had crossed the room and knelt in front of her.

"Hey now, Judy. I'm sorry." Nick reached up and gently caressed her cheeks with his paws. "I'm just as worried about your family, and the  _last_  mammal I should be taking it out on is you." The vulpine sighed heavily, letting his paw hook underneath Judy's chin, gently lifting her head to look into his eyes. "Look, I'm sorry for yelling at you. Can you forgive an overly emotional, dumb fox?"

Judy's paws reached up and clasped his. For a moment, she seemed at the verge of tears, whether happy or sad, Nick didn't know, before she nodded her head, a slight giggle escaping her lips. The blissful, warm feeling of Nick tenderly stroking her cheek brought to the forefront of her mind of why she adored this fox. "Yes, I can forgive a certain dumb fox for being overly emotional like a rabbit for once."

Nick smiled, then took the moment to share a kiss with the rabbit he loved, scratching her ears lightly, as she giggled softly under the ticklish sensation.

"You know something, Nick? I think we just had our first argument as a couple."

The fox looked as if he was about to say something, opening, then closing his mouth. Shaking his head, he chuckled at the realization.

"I do believe you're right on that, Carrots. Should we celebrate getting over it?" Nick raised his eyebrows, causing the rabbit to laugh. She pushed his muzzle away when he leaned in for a kiss, both of them laughing as he then tried several more times to peck at her cheeks and lips.

"As much as I'd like that, Slick, we still have a problem to deal with…" Judy let out between laughs.

"Right…" Nick drawled, and both he and Judy felt the mood in the room instantly sour. She reluctantly left Nick's embrace, opting to pace the room they were in, her paw to her chin, deep in thought.

Nick stayed silent, allowing Judy to pace back and forth. She already knew what his opinion on Jack was, and the fox knew that Judy didn't like what the reporter had did either. The reynard knew deep down that the reporter was just doing his job, but still, it didn't mean he had to like the consequences of it.

"As much as you want me to, I just don't think I'll be able to get along with that rabbit, in the near future. I'm sorry that he is getting to me right now, but when it comes to your safety, and your family's safety..." Nick paused, making sure he had Judy's attention as she turned to look at him. "I just can't help but get riled up a bit."

Judy paused in her pacing, her ears perking up as her head slowly turned so she was giving Nick a curious look. "What did you just say?"

Nick chuckled. "You're asking me, if you, a rabbit, are hearing correctly?"

"Just answer the question…" Judy groaned, while still giving him that interested look.

Nick rolled his eyes and chuckled. "I said that I don't think I can get along with Jack, after he's risked your safety."

Judy tapped her chin several times, and Nick could just tell something was about to click in her mind.

"What is it, Carrots. Something's scratching at those ears of yours, and it isn't me this time."

"We don't need to like him, we just need to  _use_  him to get rid of the other reporters. He's still going to be in the doghouse with Jessica. And he knows he's ticked us off. That gives us some leverage with him we won't have with any other reporter." Judy stated, her eyes still focused on the floor. She lifted her eyes from the carpet and smiled at Nick. "And I  _know_  you've worked with animals you don't like before. Are your con-mammal skills still sharp?"

Nick smirked, "Why, Officer, that wounds me. How can I ever recover from such a harsh detraction of my skills, which I may add, have never been anything but razor-edged."

"Think you can pull one over on Pawson in there and at least  _pretend_  not to hate his guts?"

The smirk on the fox's face grew even wider. "Easier than getting a rabbit officer to buy me a jumbo pop. What's the plan?"

Judy let his comment slid for the moment. "What we need is for you to play it nice with Pawson, and maybe make him think that he can get an interview out of us. If we can do that, then maybe we can use him somehow to, I don't know, maybe get rid of some of his reporter friends out there?" She grinned, feeling that same rush she had when pulling this same line of thought at Jumbeaux's cafe, now what seemed like a long time ago. " After all," she continued as Nick smirked, "no animal would expect us to do an interview with  _all_  those reporters. We must be able to play them against each other somehow."

Nick smirked. "Easier done than said, Carrots." The fox walked over to where Judy was standing and tussled her ears. "So why don't we head back over there so you can see how a real hustler works."

"Guess I'll be waiting a while then," Judy said with a grin as Nick opened the door for her. The vulpine chuckled. "Just you watch, Carrots. I have more tricks up my sleeve than even David Hopperfield."

Nick made an overly exaggerated motion of fixing his tie, distracting Judy for a moment as his tail came around and brushed her ears.

"Nick…" Judy whined, freezing up at the touch, all while a shiver went down her spine. The fox just laughed.

"The art of distraction," Nick laughed as he continued towards his guest bedroom. He turned his head slightly so he could watch her reaction, as he jingled a set of keys in his paw. He turned as Judy's eyes went wide, and began laughing as she commenced patting down her pockets, before realizing that the fox, had indeed, somehow, swiped her keys.

"Clever fox…" she muttered, running after Nick. As she reached him, she went to grab for her keys, only for him to hold them high above his own head. "Sorry, Carrots. It's part of the plan. We need an excuse for how long we were gone, don't we?"

Judy was about to comment, then stopped as she realized Nick was right. Shaking her head, she walked in front of him, her paws placed on her sides as she smiled up at Nick. "Any other surprises you'd like to let me in on before we go back in there?"

Nick brought out his phone, "For one, we need some research done on Jack. Just like any good hustle, we need to be prepared, so any stories we can find that he wrote, we'll need them."

"Anything else?" Judy asked, quickly bringing out her phone, beginning to type away on the screen.

"One more thing," Nick added. Judy didn't even look up, so busy she was with searching for articles written by the rabbit, that she didn't notice Nick glancing around the hallway, nor him leaning down.

She  _did_  notice when she felt his paw lifting her chin, and  _definitely_  noticed when his lips crashed into hers.

She nearly dropped her phone.

Nick deepened the kiss, using his other paw to caress her ears, sending a shiver down her spine and a slight squeak to escape her lips.

Her phone plopped onto the carpet and Judy decided she didn't really care.

Just as her own paw went to the back of Nick's neck, grabbing the fur there, Nick leaned away, leaving Judy leaning forward, wanting more.

Opening her eyes, she saw the smirk on Nick's face, and quickly looked around to see if anyone saw them. "What was that for?"

"Do I need an excuse?" Nick replied, chuckling warmly. "Just needed a to give my brain a stimulus for this hustle, and nothing does that quite like my favorite activity to do with my favorite bunny."

A weak smile pulled at the edges of Judy's lips, as she felt her ears becoming heated. "Dumb fox."

"Always," Nick replied in his sing-song voice. "Now, let's see what old Jack has been writing lately…"

* * *

The door to the bedroom opened, and both Nick and Judy sauntered in. Jack had a confused look on his face though, when he saw the smiles both of them had on. It was quite the different look from when they had left nearly 15 minutes earlier. The reporter was half tempted to leave the room, but with how angry everyone had been when they had all left, he hadn't wanted to raise their ire anymore than it already was.

Which is why the smiles on Nick and Judy's faces were so confusing him at this moment.

"Sorry about that," Nick began. "Had some urgent business to attend to, but we're back now." The fox tossed a set of keys back to Judy, winking at the rabbit, who caught them easily. Nick walked right up to the foot of the bed where Jack was seated and smiled.

"So, Jack. Where were we before we so urgently had to leave the room for a few moments."

The reporter scratched his head. "I believe it was something to do about you, blaming me, for messing up your lives."

Nick waved a paw. "Right, right, of course that is what you remember about that discussion." Nick gave the rabbit a friendly smirk, then leaned an elbow on a nearby bedside table. "Though I do remember one other subject we were discussing."

Jack arched an eyebrow, "And what, pray tell, would that be?"

"Your excellent reporting skills."

Jack's jaw dropped, then shut soon afterwards. "My...what?"

_Got 'em!_  Nick looked back at Judy and gave her a wink, while she sent him a discreet thumbs up, out of view of Pawson, of course.

"So, Jack. Can I call you Jack?" Nick laughed, then continued, barreling over Jack when he was about to speak. "While we were out taking care of our  _very_  important business, I looked over some of the stories you've written, and I have to say, I am  _quite_  impressed by your work. That touching article on those poor beavers who were evicted from their low income houses, struck right in my heart." Nick placed a paw over his chest, smirking on the inside as he saw Jack's chest puff out a little.

"Seriously, those poor beavers," Nick let his voice catch, then went to wipe away a tear at his eye that had never existed. "They couldn't even afford any chewing wood, so their children  _had_  to chew up that wall unless they wanted their teeth to grow too long and hurt them. I was so touched by you, Jack, standing up for those children."

"Well, someone had to do it," Jack replied, his tone much less hostile than before. "And my boss just wanted to throw that piece away, but I convinced him to keep it."

"And I, for one, am glad you did," Nick replied, placing a paw on Jack's shoulder.

The bunny didn't even flinch at Nick's touch, when in just their previous discussion, he had Jack nearly backed into a wall. If Nick had physically representations of his emotions inside his mind, they would all be doing high fives at how quickly Jack had fallen to his charms.

"It is reading articles like that, which gives me hope for all reporters out there." Nick gave a heavy sigh and lowered his head. "Though I doubt any of those reporters out in town right now would have covered that story as well as you had."

"Well," Jack muttered, bashfully rubbing his ears, which had fallen down behind his head. "I bet some of them might have. I know quite a few of them and…"

"But none of them captured the  _emotions_  of the family like you did. It wasn't just a story, it was a life lesson on morality and caring about others." Nick patted Jack's shoulder and took a step away from the rabbit as he turned to face Judy. "Judy, I think we should probably go into town and face those reporters now. I know they'll probably be mean, and it is something we don't deserve, to be badgered by so many disrespectful reporters, asking so many unfriendly questions. I bet they aren't even interested in who we are, really, just hoping to get some soundbites they can twist."

Judy nodded, catching on to where Nick was going. The doe gave a wistful sigh. "We're just going to have to roll with the punches on this one, Nick. I mean, we could always just skip the blueberry festival this year, and spend the rest of our vacation inside." Judy trudged to an open chair and sat roughly in it. "Maybe next year we won't have as many reporters flocking over our every movement."

"I don't know if Bogo would approve of that though, nor would the Bunnyburrow city council like us making a circus out of their town a second time." Nick walked over to the doe and placed a paw on her shoulder.

"Let's not let a few mammals stand in the way of a little fun now, eh?" He clapped his paw several times on Judy's shoulder. "Now come on, it's barely noon and we have a whole day of reporters to deal with ahead of us. Maybe we can find one of the nicer ones to give an interview with and hope the rest leave us be…"

Judy lifted her eyes towards Nick, and she had a such a look of dejection in them, that for a moment, Nick was almost convinced at her acting skills.

_Almost..._

Thankfully, another animal in the room fell for it hook, line, and sinker.

"Wait!"

Both Nick and Judy halted and smirked, though quickly smothering them back to more neutral expressions before turning around to face Jack.

"I may not be able to get rid of all the reporters, or that story my boss printed, but, I think I may be able to get them off your backs."

"You'd do that for us?" Nick asked, placing a paw over his chest.

"That's so kind of you," Judy added, taking several steps forward, until she was right in front of Jack. She enveloped him in a hug, turning her head so she could cast a wink at Nick.

Jack chuckled. "Well, If I'm able to persuade my boss to up the ante, maybe ZNN and Chief Bogo could arrange something exclusive with the two of you. It's something that comes up with star athletes or celebrities sometimes. Exclusive broadcast rights for concerts are similar as well. My network would pay the ZPD for exclusive media rights to the two of you, and in that way, anybody who wanted to read your interviews or get official photos would need to buy our paper. If I can convince my boss to arrange that with your Chief, then all the other reporters would probably go home, since they'd know you're contractually prohibited from speaking to them on the record."

"So, what you're saying then," Nick began, making himself sound as hopeful as possible. "Is that your network becomes the only one we're allowed to do interviews with, so that the other reporters won't even bother asking for them?"

Jack nodded hesitantly. "When you put it like that, yes. If one network has exclusive rights to a mammal, or in this case, several mammals, then no other news agency can go near them, otherwise it would be considered harassment. So that would eliminate the threat of reporters knocking on your front door.

_That isn't the threat I was thinking that might come knocking_...Nick thought. The idea, though, encouraged the fox, and he could tell from a quick glance at Judy, that she was considering it as well.

"Would you be the one interviewing us,  _if_ , this went through?" Judy asked calmly. "Or would those rights fall to the entire network and we might end up with one of the reporters in town? I wouldn't want to be interviewed by someone I didn't know."

"Only if you wanted me to," Jack replied morosely. "You're the exclusive property that everybody is interested in and you could certainly have the contract specify your interviewer. After all, I was the one who caused all this trouble, I could see how you wouldn't want to be near me with a ten foot pole."

"Twenty feet, with an additional poker at the end...ohhhh!" Nick shuddered, his mouth clamping shut as, beyond Jack's view, Judy had neatly grabbed Nick's tail and had begun stroking it. Nick swiftly turned his head to Judy, the bunny giving him a sly grin with half lidded eyes. She motioned for him to lean down and cupped her muzzle so only Nick could see her lips, while releasing her hold on his tail.

"Play nice with him, and  _I'll_  play nice with you, got it?" Judy mouthed, aware of the other pair of rabbit ears in the room. Nick shook his head, chuckling nervously as his eyes narrowed.

"Such a teasing bunny," Nick mouthed back.

Judy's answering smirk and wink clearly conveyed 'Only to you' before she leaned away from Nick and her attention refocused on the other rabbit.

"Now," she began, regaining Jack's attention. "How would we go about getting this deal so all these reporters can leave us be?"

Jack put a paw to his chin, deep in thought. "The first thing, I would imagine, would be to have you contact the Chief of Police while I contact my boss, and see if we could somehow work out some sort of deal to gain exclusivity rights on interviews with you. I've never actually been a part of negotiations like that, so I'm guessing a bit, here. If that would happen, then my network would certainly trumpet such an arrangement; it would raise our profile and sales. The other networks, papers, and their reporters would go back to Zootopia, as they'd be no story here for them."

Judy brightened at the news, though she still saw one problem with all this. Bogo wanted them out of the spotlight as much as possible right now, and a network advertising such an exclusive deal with the 'Heroes of Zootopia' as Jack had called them, was the exact opposite of keeping a low-profile. Still, the recent article had already, frankly, destroyed any chance at keeping their whereabouts a secret, and Judy didn't think an additional related announcement by the same paper would make things any worse.

Judy's phone began buzzing, startling the rabbit. She pulled the device from her pocket, only to have her ears droop behind her.

It was like Bogo was a mind reader…

"It's Chief Bogo," Judy stated, looking over at Nick who nodded very slowly, a slight look of fear momentarily crossing his face before he settled back onto his mask he normally wore around others.

"I'll just go call my boss," Jack said, before heading towards the door. "That way maybe we can tie all this up now, instead of waiting. Run it by your Chief, and I'll do the same. If they're both agreeable, they can work out the details from there. Let me know what he says," Jack added, phone in paw as he opened the door and left the room.

Judy gave a nervous gulp, realizing that the chief was trying to start a video-call. He didn't normally do that, unless he really wanted to read someone the riot act, and felt that words were not sufficient without the glaring on top. Placing a fake smile upon her face, Judy clicked the green answer button on her iCarrot phone.

"Hey, Chief Bogo...how've you been?"

"Shut it with the niceties, Hopps," Bogo bellowed through the phone, his eyes glaring at the rabbit as Nick worked his way around behind her to put himself into the video call. "And don't you even start with me today, Wilde. Do you two know how much of a fiasco this whole mess of your visit to Bunnyburrow has become? I have the press right up my tail, and now even the mayor is wanting to know what is going on with me approving a 'vacation', as it is being reported, for two high-profile officers in the middle of a murder investigation. I don't like having my staffing decisions challenged and I like revealing information on the private lives and health of my officers even  _less_."

The buffalo's eyes narrowed as he glared through the small screen in Judy's paw. "Now, why don't you two tell me what is going on over there so I don't have to make the journey  _personally_ , which I think you two would find most unpleasant..."

"Well," Nick began. "It's nice seeing you too, boss."

"I said shut it, Wilde!" Bogo roared, slamming his hoof on his desk, causing his side of the screen to jostle and move. "Hopps, I'm not in the mood for any of Wilde's thoughts on the matter, now you tell me why this 'secret' trip has now gone viral."

"There was a reporter on the train with us, heading into Bunnyburrow, sir. He called his boss about seeing us, and tried to get an interview with us as well. When that didn't work, his boss…"

"And  _why_  is it that you didn't inform me the moment after he came to you, asking for an interview, so I could have a heads-up that your location was about to be compromised?" The glare Bogo was sending their way caused Nick to pull his sunglasses out of his shirt pocket. He barely had them over his eyes before Chief slammed his hoof onto the desk again.

"You're in a bloody house, Wilde, so take those damn sunglasses off!"

Nick quickly removed his shades, his tail nervously swishing behind him as Bogo's attention quickly turned back onto Judy.

"Well, we didn't really meet him until later," Judy began nervously, before again being cut off by the Chief.

"How is it that he asked you for an interview, and you didn't know he was a reporter!" His voice increased in rage until the whole picture on the phone shook as he slammed his hoof onto the table for a third time. "And here I was thinking that you two actually were good enough to be detectives one day, due to you ability to notice things that others didn't, and now I find out you two can't even identify a reporter when he walks up to you and asks for an interview!"

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but it didn't happen like that, Chief."

Bogo's eyes turned slightly to glare at the fox. "Then please, enlighten me as to what  _really_  happened, Officer," he replied, all of a sudden eerily quiet compared to just a moment earlier. Nick knew he was treading on the thinnest of ice with the Chief at this moment, and decided it was probably best to head back in and off said thin ice.

"Gladly," Nick replied, squeezing Judy's paw in his own while giving her a quick smile. "He identified us on the train and called his boss like Judy," Bogo let out a snort as Nick nervously hemmed. "Er, like Officer Hopps stated. We didn't witness the phone call, and we didn't know the reporter in question had even spoken to anybody about us until today, when the article came out."

"And how did you come by this information today, then?"

"Now that's a funny story," Nick grinned nervously, rubbing his ears.

"Can it with the vagueties," Bogo shouted. "Hopps, why have the two of you been speaking with reporters while you are supposed to be healing and resting at home?"

"Reporter, sir. Singular. And like Nick said, it's a," Judy gulped, giving her boss a nervous smile. "He's well...he's dating my sister."

Nearly a minute of silence went by as Bogo just stared at them. Both fox and rabbit cast nervous glances at one another, and Nick gently squeezed Judy's paw even tighter. It was after a minute that Bogo finally did something other than stare.

Putting a hoof to his head, and rubbing his nostrils, he groaned.

"Um, sir?" Judy spoke up, but was quickly cut off by Bogo as the water buffalo raised his hoof.

"Why didn't I expect something crazy to end up happening out of this entire hairbrained idea," Bogo finally stated, shaking his head, before throwing a hoof into the air and letting it drop to the desk. "Only you two are capable of causing such messes like this on such a weekly, if almost daily, basis."

"Sir?" Nick asked. "Still, what would you like us to do?"

His glare returned in full force at the fox's question, though from years of hustling mammals on the street, Nick saw the stress and tiredness in Bogo's eyes. He leaned on one of his arms on his desk. "Now, if this was completely up to me, I'd have the both of you transported back to Precinct One and put you on lockdown inside headquarters until this murderous scumbag was caught. However, locking two of my officers inside the station would not do positive things for feelings of public safety, or confidence in our efforts to catch those responsible. And, I am not the only mammal who has a say in this decision, as Dr Lutrinae is already planning on heading out in two days to perform your check up. As such, I would like to ask  _your_  opinions as how we go about dealing with this situation."

Bogo's declaration stunned both smaller mammals. Had he  _really_  just asked them what they'd do?

"Is this some sort of test?" Nick began, "Because, if so, I always hated those as a kit. Can you make it at least multiple choice?"

"It is not a test, Wilde," Bogo snorted, clearly fed up with the fox's smarmy behavior, but too tired to deal properly with it. "Now, what do  _you two_  think is the best solution to this mess you've landed us all in."

"We might already have a solution for you, Chief," Judy replied, her ears dropping behind her head as a nervous smile appeared on her face. "Though I'm not sure how well you might, er, like it."

Bogo's reply to her response was a simple snort and a glare. "Care to elaborate, Hopps?"

"Well, with Jack, the reporter who is dating my sister already knowing us, we could potentially...if it is alright with you or course, and only if you would approve of such a gesture…"

"Spit it out, Hopps…" Bogo growled, narrowing his eyes until they were thin slits.

"What Judy is trying to say Chief," Nick interrupted, and unseen to the phone's camera he wrapped his arm around Judy's waist, squeezing her gently in reassurance. "Is that if we allow one reporter, specifically this Jack Pawson from ZNN, who is currently dating Judy's sister, to have exclusive interview rights with Judy and myself, that would cause the rest of this conflagration of reporters to leave, thus."

Bogo didn't move. He didn't twitch, and he said nothing.

For nearly two full minutes.

When he finally spoke, it was as short, gruff, and brief as Bogo.

"Let me talk to him, now."

Nick nodded, before moving away from the phone, leaving Judy 'alone' with their boss as the fox left the room.

"So…" Judy drawled nervously, as Bogo neither blinked nor changed his glare towards her. "Anything new with the case?"

The rabbit was greeted with an annoyed snort and a narrowing of the eyes.

"I take that as I'm not supposed to be asking about that, am I."

"No," came his terse reply.

Judy gave a nervous laugh, trying to think of anything to say so the awkward silence that pervaded the room would disappear.

"So, do you have those tickets for that Gazelle concert coming up? I sure you'd like...to...go..."

Her sentence died at the edge of her lips at the snort Bogo gave her. She laughed nervously, as her foot began thumping the floor.

The silence was gnawing at Judy and the more it dragged on, the more nervous she became.

_What is taking Nick so long?_  She thought as she glanced at the clock on the wall, then to the door.

Her gaze finally came back to the phone, and her boss's angry visage on it.

_How can I break this awkward silence..._ the rabbit thought, as her nervousness was reaching the breaking point. The glare Bogo was giving her never wavered.

He must have practiced it for some time to get transferring that much fear across this well.

"Eheh, so...what do you call a three hump…"

The door opened with a squeak.

"Oh, thank carrots you're back," Judy hurriedly stated, feeling incredibly relieved as Nick re-entered the room, with Jack trailing behind him a few steps. She picked up the phone, dashing towards Jack.

"Here's Chief Bogo. Bogo, this is Jack." She passed the phone onto the surprised rabbit. "You two have fun talking now!" She grabbed Nick's paw, tugging him into the room while at the same time pushing Jack back out of it.

It wasn't until she shut the door, did she relax, leaning back into the door, her ears lowered and a heavy sigh escaping her lips.

"Was being alone with Bogo for a couple of minutes that draining?" Nick asked.

"Yes!" Judy all but yelled, rubbing her paws over her ears. "It was even worse than when we were last in his office. He just...stared at me." She turned to Nick her eyes wide. "For the entire time."

Nick chuckled. "Well, it seems like old Buffalo Butt has a way with the ladies, eh?"

Judy just groaned and walked over to the bed, dropping herself face-first onto it, her ears stretched out above her head.

Nick shook his head before following her, sitting next to her on the bed while rubbing her ears. "Want to hear something that might make you feel a bit better?"

"Yes," came her mumbled reply, slightly drowned out by the cushiony bed.

Nick leaned closer to her. "Is it worth a kiss to hear it?"

A slight raise of Judy's head. "Depending on if it's good or not."

He stopped stroking her ears, placing the paw over his chest. "Why Carrots, would I lie to you?"

"Do you want me to answer that?"

Nick chuckled, tipping Judy's head up enough with his paw so he could see her face. Her nose was twitching madly and a frown had forced its way over her normal smile. "I overheard Jack speaking with his boss, and as long as Bogo is on board, I think those reporters downtown won't be a worry anymore."

A small smile etched itself onto Judy's face. "That's if Jack survives Bogo's vacuous stare. The poor guy doesn't know what's coming to him."

Chuckling, Nick leaned down and while tipping Judy's head up further, placed a kiss right onto her nose. Her eyes closed and her smile grew as a slight 'hmm' came from her.

"Now I know how to stop your nose from twitching," Nick laughed as Judy pushed herself onto her elbows, placing her paws over her nose as it began to twitch again.

"That is too cute," Nick stated. His eyes grew wide and his ears fell back as he chanced a glance at Judy. The rabbit was now glaring at him, her ears flat against the back of her head.

"I thought I told you not to call me cute."

_Oh well, I'm already in the pit. Let's grab the shovel..._ Nick thought with a sigh.

"It's because your nose twitching like that is just that...cute." And for good measure, he reached out and booped her nose with one of his claws.

Her annoyance at the 'c' word seemed to have increased as she gained a smirk, one that Nick recognized only came to her when he had messed up royally.

"You want to see cute, huh?" Judy said, leaning back onto her knees.

"Yes, I think I'm staring at the cutest rabbit in the entire world," Nick mocked, with a grin. He knew he was only digging his grave deeper, but with how stressed Judy had been when he re-entered the room, he had felt terrible for leaving her alone for so long while heading to find Jack.

If this relieved her tension, then being her punching bag would be worth it.

"I'll show you,  _cute._ " Judy stated as she sprang forward, tackling the fox to the bed. Nick tried at fending her off, the two of them wrestling on the bed while he was laughing his muzzle off.

"Oh no! I'm being attacked by the cute little bunny! Someone help-oof!"

He clutched his stomach when one of her fists finally connected. "Ok, maybe that last comment went a bit too far," he groaned as Judy sat atop him, glaring down at him.

"Dumb fox…" Judy drawled, shaking her head as a sly grin appeared on it. Leaning over, she patted Nick's cheek like a grandmother would a young kit. "Now, for me to get off you, what should the fox say to the rabbit?"

Nick knew he shouldn't say it. But with that look Judy was giving him at that moment, he couldn't resist.

This bunny would be the death of him.

"Ring, ting, ting, ting, ting a ting?" Nick snickered.

Judy's eyes narrowed.

The doorknob rattled.

In a flash, Judy leapt off Nick, using his chest as a springboard as she hit the ground with a roll, standing up with a smile like nothing had occurred between Nick and herself before the door had even begun to swing open, revealing Jack standing in the hallway.

The male rabbit held the phone by his side, his expression vacant of all life as he entered the room, an expression both Judy and Nick knew all too well.

"First time talking with Bogo, I assume?" Nick asked, leaning up onto his elbows before dragging himself backwards to lean against the bed's headboard.

Jack nodded as Judy walked towards him, her paw out, asking for the phone. When the other rabbit didn't offer it, but just stared ahead, she snatched it from his paws. Her eyes widened when she noticed the call had ended.

"You didn't hang up on the Chief, did you?" She yelled frantically, staring at the blank screen.  _Bogo would kill us if Jack did that..._

The shout seemed to have awoken him from his stupor, as he jumped into the air, landing on his backside, his nose twitching frantically.

"Oh, sorry, must have spaced out there for a moment," he said sheepishly. "Um, no. I let Bogo know that my boss was more than willing to work with the city and the ZPD on this interview, and even though, Bogo...uh, wasn't  _thrilled_  with the idea." Jack nervously scratched the back of his neck. "He said he'd get the mayor to go along with it if it got, quote  _'those bloody reporters off of Officers Hopps' and Wilde's tails.'_  He said he'll call back in a bit once he gets the mayor's approval, which, considering how anxious that guy is about polls, he'll probably want a fluff piece about you two going about so he can brag about the success of the Mammals Inclusion Initiative."

Both Nick and Judy perked up at the news and Nick had to fight to keep the grin from appearing on his face as he looked at Judy, who , unlike himself, was beaming from ear to ear.

"I'm glad that at least this solves the problem of all those reporters in town," a now peppy Judy stated.

"Um, about that…"

Judy turned to look at Jack with a curious expression. "Wha..what do you mean?"

The reporter gave her a nervous smile. "All of the  _actual_  reporters will leave, once they find out they won't be able to interview the two of you. It won't stop the paparazzi in town from trying to snap pictures of you for the tabloids, or possibly shouting questions at you, hoping you'll slip and say something scandalous.

"Yellow fever strikes again," muttered Nick as he laid back down on the bed. At least with his head against the bed, his ears wouldn't portray how annoyed he was at the sudden revelation. Both he and Judy knew how horribly invasive the paparazzi could be, as they had been assigned protection detail for celebrities several times, and had to deal with the 'journalists' who knew no boundaries. In one instance while they were on a protection detail, thanks to Judy's hearing, they managed to catch a rat climbing through the ventilation shafts, trying to snap a quick picture of Christina Jaguara while she was in her dressing room.

Suffice it to say, Nick was less than amused he'd be having to deal with  _them_  now, especially when Judy and him were going to be their targets. He glanced over at Judy to see how she was responding to the news. His scowl was quickly replaced by a smile as he say Judy face set with determination. It was her version of his own, 'Don't let them see that they get to you' facade.

_Another reason why I love this bunny_ , Nick mentally chalked up on his imaginary 'I love Judy' board. Judy took a step forward, straightening her posture as she took in a deep breath.

"So," Judy began, letting the air back out. "When do you want to conduct your interview. I think both Nick and I," she pointed towards Nick, "would be ready whenever you are." She placed her paws on her hips and rocked back and forth on her paws. "We can start right now if you like."

A small chuckle came from Jack, which brought Nick's head up from against the bed.

"What are you chuckling about over there, Fluff?" Nick asked coldly, leaning up on his elbows. Even though both him and Judy had been through two press conferences now, and had learned to deal with the press somewhat, he still disdained giving personal interviews. The only one who he felt should know anything about his life, was Judy, and even with her, he still struggled to open up about himself.

The fox groaned internally. He still hadn't told her about his parents. She had asked once, on the second day of their house arrest back at the safehouse, and he'd quickly changed the subject. Nick knew she'd ask again, but wasn't sure how he ever could explain that particular story to her, and just how it had affected him, even to this day.

"Nothing," Jack waved Nick off, instead giving his attention to Judy. Nick felt his blood pressure spike a bit at the dismissal, but kept the growl that threatened to come out deep in his throat. He didn't need a repeat of breakfast a few days earlier. Jack gave his full attention to Judy, who was now looking somewhat annoyed, which Nick hopefully attributed to Jack's dismissal of him. "It's just, my boss said that I'd be the one to interview you, apparently Bogo was insistent on that, but…"

The ' _but'_  caught Nick's attention and his ears perked up. The rabbit chuckled as a grin appeared on his face.

"But, it was  _him_  who failed to specify when or where."

For a moment, all was silent in the room, until a rather loud  _snort_  sounded. Nick turned to look at Judy who was trying, and failing miserably, at hiding her laughter by covering her mouth with her paw.

"You hustled your own boss?" Judy finally blurted out, her mirth spilling over as her laughter escaped.

"That I did," Jack replied, a little sheepishly as he rubbed his ears, which had fallen behind his head. "He's probably going to absolutely hate me for it, but, after what I did to you, in causing all of this, I at least owed you the ability to choose when you'd like your interview to happen, and not have it be forced upon you immediately. The exclusivity contract is good until the end of next month, so we'd have to plan within that time. And the sooner the better, as far as my future career is concerned, but I'll leave it up yo the two of you and try not to press you on it, at least while you're on vacation out here."

Jack looked over towards Nick, his smile dropping as he tried to figure out what the fox was thinking.

Nick shook his head, pushing himself up until he was sitting upright on the bed, his eyes still focused on the sheets. "Are you sure you aren't related to the Hopps?"

The rabbit gave the fox a puzzled expression. "I did extensive research when I first met Jessica to make sure we weren't related, since bunny families generally become intermingled within a few generations and…"

"No, no, no," Nick interrupted, waving his pay for Jack to stop. The fox looked up at the rabbit with a smirk. "What I mean, is that any rabbit that can pull a hustle like that, on their  _boss_ , no less, and be that smug about it..." The fox waggled his finger at Jack while turning his smile on Judy. "They can only be a Hopps."

"But, I did all that research. I can't be a Hopps," Jack murmured, causing Judy to snicker.

Nick shook his head, giving Jack a roll of his eyes. "And here I was, just about to call you a clever bunny." The fox pushed himself off the bed. "Come on, Carrots. I'm smelling something cooking in the kitchen. Think you can hear what they're making from here?" He brushed her ears with his paw, chuckling as they sprung back up into place above her as she gently ribbed him with her elbow.

"Har, har, Slick," Judy replied with a roll of her eyes. Her ears  _did_  twitch suddenly and she smiled. "Although, with that sizzling sound, it can only be one of two things, and one of those are my favorite dish."

At the youthful smile Judy had on, Nick barked out a loud laugh. "So you can hear what's cooking, eh, Carrots?"

"Oh hush, you."

The two walked right past Jack, who turned and followed them with his eyes as they opened the door and walked out, while his feet were still glued to the carpet.

"Guys? Nick? Judy?" he yelled in a pleading voice. "Am I really related to Jessica? Guys?"

He darted out into the hall, but only saw Nick's tail disappearing around the corner. "Oh, carrot sticks!"

With no reply coming, he muttered silently to himself as he pulled out his phone. He quickly found the website he was looking for, Buncestry, and typed in both his, and Jessica's name onto the relation finder, typing frantically. It would be some time before he finally made it to dinner.

 


	24. All's Fair in Love and Blueberries

 

It had only taken a few hours before Jack received word from his boss; ZNN had secured full and exclusive rights from the ZPD and mayor's office to interview Nick and Judy. The other stations had also been notified of the deal, with Jack telling a now very much relieved Nick and Judy that the reporters in downtown Bunnyburrow should be leaving shortly.

_Hopefully_ , at least.

During that time where Jack was waiting to hear from his boss, he took the time to go back onto the Buncestry website,  _just to double check_  his research. To his relief, he found that the only relation he was to her, was through being her father's, brother's, nephew's, cousin's, former roommate. When he brought the news to Jessica, she replied with an odd stare and the question,  _So, what does that make us?_

Absolutely nothing as it turned out, he exclaimed cheerfully, leaving her to wonder why he had brought it up in the first place, as at that moment was when his boss was returning his call with the good news about the deal.

The Hopps' family received the news of the deal with ZNN with immense joy, as it meant they could finally leave for the Blueberry Festival. Stu and Bonnie had put off the trip into town as long as possible, as they didn't enjoy the idea of their daughter and her partner being mobbed by mammals with cameras. The two officers hadn't minded much, though Nick was anxious to see exactly what a festival all about blueberries would look like.

The combined opinion of the Kerfluffle was that they just wanted the deep fried carrot sticks.

"Load 'em up!" Stu called out, standing at the front door, dressed in his finest pair of overalls and ballcap. At his cue, a horde of bunnies scampered past him, racing out the door and onto the porch, creating a literal line of rabbits from the living room to the driveway. It took well over a minute for all of them to make their way past Bonnie, who stood holding the door open for her family, while Stu grabbed a set of keys and made his way around to the back of the house.

"How is everyone going to get to the festival, Carrots?" Nick asked as they made up the tail end of the line, slowly walking towards the door. The fox chuckled at the scene before him, as dozens and dozens of rabbits were hopping out the door, the younger ones laughing while their older siblings and parents tried their best at keeping some semblance of order through all the chaos.

"Last I saw," Nick drawled, leaning lower to gaze straight into Judy's eyes, "you own a single truck, and that couldn't fit more than 10 rabbits if we loaded them all up in the back of it." Nick imagined the entire Hopps' household trying to fit in the back of the truck, or hanging off the sides of it as it made its way down the country road. He smirked, nudging her with his elbow. "Should we call the front seats now, before the rest of your siblings try to claim it?"

Judy grinned. "The front seats are for mom and dad, assuming we were taking the truck. As for your previous question…" There was a devious glint to the look she was giving him. "We have our ways." There was an extra bounce to her step as she casually hip-bumped the fox. "You haven't seen the Kerfluffamobile yet."

"The whata-mobile?" Nick blurted out, staring at her quizzically. "What could that even possibly be?"

"You'll see…" came Judy's coy reply, as they finally filed out the door past Bonnie, who shut and locked it behind them after making one final visual sweep of the home.

Stepping off the porch and into the sun, Nick squinted, putting on his sunglasses as Judy placed her sun hat over her ears. Lining the driveway, all on one side, was the entire Hopps clan, creating lines of about five to six rabbits deep every two feet or so. Each line was busy chatting and laughing, but they all stayed in those equally spaced lines.

"Carrots, I knew your family was strange, but this takes the carrot cake," Nick stated mutely, scratching his head while switching his gaze between Judy and her assembled siblings. Rolling her eyes, Judy motioned for him to follow her roughly two thirds of the way down the aisles of rabbits, and to a line with only one of her nieces in it. They stood for nearly a minute, before Nick felt a small tug on his shirt.

Looking down, he noticed Judy's niece staring at him, pulling on his tropical shirt.

"Mr Nick?" the rabbit chirped, her eyes beaming with a sort of excitement.

"Yes? It's July, isn't it?"

The young rabbit nodded her head vigorously while hopping once. "Yep, that's me! How'd you remember me, Mr Nick?"

The vulpine shrugged, keeping a relaxed smile on his face while crouching down. "How could I forget a smile like that?"

July giggled, placing her paws over her mouth as she bounced on her toes. Nick laughed, oblivious to the tender look Judy was giving him.

"I want to be a cop, just like you and Aunt Judy," July blurted out, giving Nick a wide smile, only causing Nick to chuckle harder when the fox realized she was missing one of her front, buck teeth. Judy lightly prodded him with her elbow, pointing discreetly at her cousin, casually mouthing the words,  _carrot accident_. It took all of Nick's willpower not to burst out into more laughter at that.

"Well isn't that a novel idea, a police bunny," declared Nick, turning so he could wink at Judy. "Only the best of bunnies are up for that challenge, so it must run in the family."

July smiled, surprising both Nick and Judy as she jumped up and hugged Nick's legs. He froze, as Judy laughed behind him, trying to stifle her giggles by placing her paw over her mouth, though it didn't seem to work  _too_  well.

"Har har," Nick groaned. "Laugh it up, Fluff."

Judy's laughter diminished as she smiled at Nick. "I think I have now. That was just too adorable."

The fox rolled his eyes. "Sure." Then, with a hint of smarminess, he rocked his head back and forth  _just_ a little as he laughingly replied. "Well,  _Carrots_. I thought it was quite... _cute._ "

Judy frowned, but before she could even form a reply, Nick felt a weight release from his leg and a voice yelling up at him.

"Hey," July stomped, folding her arms across her chest. "Auntie Judy doesn't like that word."

"I'd listen to her if I were you," Judy added with a grin.

"Alright," Nick huffed, staring down at July as if he were a kit with his paw caught in the cookie jar. "I'll try not to call you a  _cute_ bunny. I'll even try no to call that other cute bunny over there," he pointed at Judy, "cute anymore."

July nodded, a bright smile on her face. "Works for me!" She bounded back off to a few feet ahead of them, standing with her back straight and arms placed at attention at her side. Nick chuckled slightly before feeling a whack to the back of his head.

"Oww, hey," he muttered. Scratching his head as he turned to see Judy with her paws crossed over her chest, a scowl and thumping foot showing her irritation.

"I thought I said not to call bunnies cute."

"You only told me to not call  _other_  bunnies c-,  _that_  word. I thought you gave me rights to say that to you every now and then." Nick wanted to show her somehow that he was just joking around. However, with all of her family around, and with none of them knowing they were together besides her one brother and Jessica, he finally sighed and settled on giving her a nervous smile.

Rolling her eyes, Judy let out a sigh before standing next to Nick, once again bumping him gently with her hips. Nick smirked, and in revenge wrapped his tail around her legs, snickering as she leaned into him, just a little bit more than casually. Thankfully, none of the nearby rabbits seemed to notice the small gestures.

And there they stood, out in the sun, baking like the blueberry pies Nick wanted to sink his teeth into at the festival, waiting for the whatever-mobile that Judy described to get them there. After another minute, Nick was about to let out another sarcastic remark relating to how long it takes to bake a fox, when a distant rumbling sound reached his ears.

Nick looked around for the source of the noise, finally locating it when a large tractor that Nick swore he'd seen the other day out in the field, pulled into view from around the far side of the Hopps' warren. The fox saw a grinning Stu in the driver's seat, and jumped when the elderly rabbit pressed on the horn twice. On the front, a giant, "Hopps' Farms", was proudly scrawled on a board affixed just under the radiator.

" _That's_  the Kerfluffa-whatever?" Nisk spouted, one ear lowering while the other raised at the odd sight.

"Nah, that's just the farm's tractor," Judy drawled, a hint of a smile playing at her lips. "What it's pulling,  _that's_  the Kerfluffamobile."

Nick moved his eyes off the tractor, and immediately noticed a pair of flatbed trailers daisy-chained behind it. The tractor was mostly grey, where the paint wasn't rusted off of course, as seemed to be the case with any machine on a farm, with two white painted stripes covered the radiator. Seen from the front, they looked like two, large, buck teeth, probably the reason being one of Judy's innumerable siblings had painted them that way. Twin funnels stuck out of the top of the tractor, making Nick to believe the vehicle was simply a mechanical version of a rabbit itself.

The two flatbed trailers being towed along behind it were rather eclectic in their own right. The former flatbed trailers were lined with wooden benches, as well as a guardrail made of chain that wrapped around the outside. Nick doubted that the trailers had been built like that; Stu must have modified them himself, bolting down wooden benches and the guardrails as the Hopps family grew larger.

"You've bunny-ized everything, haven't you?" Nick stared at the oddly designed vehicle as it slowed to a stop in front of the assembled bunnies, the vast multitude of Judy's family climbing up and onto the benches. Nick tentatively stepped towards the trailer, noticing that, built into the side of it, was a set of retractable steps, the lowest of which, had a bunny's face on it, greeting him with the words,  _Watch your Hop!_.

"What, is the  _big bad fox_  afraid of a tiny step?" Judy laughed behind him. Nick shook his head, then bounced onto the first step, while making a point to  _hop_  up each one. Turning around at the top, he offered his paw to Judy with a smirk.

"Sorry, I had to think how a bunny might get on this thing," he quipped. Judy rolled her eyes, taking his outstretched paw as she made a point to simply climb the stairs normally, while all around them, her nieces and nephews, who had watched the fox with a semblance of interest, were now imitating him by hopping up the stairs while giggling madly.

Judy laughed as Nick moved to the end of the bench, glancing off the side of the flatbed, noticing how he could see for miles across the vast, flat countryside around them. The fox turned in his bench, looking down the rows behind him, able to see which places were occupied just by the rabbit ears poking out above each bench.

Judy tried and failed to suppress the giggles she currently had at seeing Nick act like a kit on their birthday. "Nick, it's just a trailer with seats added to it. You'll see  _dozens_  of these at the festival today. Every family has one."

"No," Nick replied, turning his head to gaze at Judy. " _This_  is some sort of advanced bunny transport system," he spluttered, waving his paw at the front of the truck. His grin widened as he snapped his fingers. "This is  _Bats!"_

"What do you mean,  _bats_?" Judy asked, one of her ears lowering halfway as a confused look dawned on her face.

Nick shook his head. " _BATS_. The Bunny Advanced Transport System. With a vehicle this eclectic, it deserves a better name than the Kerfluffanator," Nick stated with a grin and wave of his paw as he leaned back into his seat.

Judy just laughed as she shook her head. "Nick, for the last time, it's called the Kerfluffamobile, and no, we use this for other things as well." Smiling as one of Nick's ears lowered in confusion, she continued. "It isn't just for hauling bunnies, the benches can be taken out so that we can load it up with produce and take it to market. Other times, we have the benches in so that if the family needs to all get somewhere, we can."

"So, where does Bonnie sit? I mean, Stu is driving the tractor, but there isn't room for your mom up there too…"

A loud screeching sound came from behind them, causing Nick to jump back into his seat, grabbing at his ears. Judy only flinched slightly, giggling at Nick's behavior. Craning his head around, Nick looked back to the source of the noise to find Bonnie standing atop the last bench in the second trailer, a megaphone in her hands as she surveyed the seated bunnies in front of her.

"Is everyone on board? No stragglers left behind?" Bonnie enquired through the speaker. Judy looked around her out of habit, watching as the last bunny to board each trailer pulled the steps back up and locked a length of chain across the gap, before turning to Bonnie and giving a thumbs-up.

"Alright, Stu," Bonnie spoke through the megaphone. "Let's get this show on the road. Next stop, the Blueberry Festival!"

An answering honk came from the tractor's horn as Stu shifted into gear and the whole contraption lurched into motion.

A loud cheer went up among the younger rabbits as the whole trailer jerked once, before ambling forward, pulling off the driveway and onto the road, leaving the Hopps' farm behind.

"Well," Judy replied, leaning back into her seat. "Might as well get comfortable, it's nearly an hour to the festival grounds at tractor speed, then another hour until the actual festival begins." She pulled her sunhat down across her face before snuggling back into the hard seat behind her and tried her best to ignore the rambunctious July who sat next to her. With the other rabbit there, Judy resigned herself to not sharing any cuddles with Nick during the ride, despite how much she wanted to, and knew  _he_  wanted to as well. They had been so confined at the house, and barely had any time to themselves to allow their relationship to blossom the way they both desired it to.

_It's hard to talk about something when the whole warren can overhear you._

So Judy sat back against the back of her bench, her hat tipped over her eyes.

She resigned herself to a long, boring hour...

A yelp next to her caused her to bolt upright, frantically looking at Nick, only to see him bent over backwards across the top of the bench.

"Ow! Those are not toys! _"_  Nick howled, as Judy sat shocked at the display before her. One of her youngest cousins sitting behind the fox had noticed his ears, and was now tugging at them, giggling madly. It wasn't enough to hurt Nick, but just enough to annoy the fox.

"Hey, stop that! Ow! Hey, my ear's not a toy-oww!" Nick looked at Judy with pleading eyes. "Carrots, a little help here?" Judy began to chuckle as she leaned over the back of the seat, distracting the young kit with a smile and wave, leading to Nick's ears being released from the bunnies grasp.

The fox gasped, gently caressing his ears with one paw, the other extended towards Judy. "Carrots...you saved my life."

"Well, that's what we do here in the Kerfluffamobile," Jury snickered, placing her paw over his own.

Nick smirked, adjusting himself against the bench to a more comfortable position, one that he made sure kept his ears out of reach of the rabbit behind him. "Well, this fox would like to thank this wise bunny for her life-saving skills."

In a moment, Nick's tail appeared between them. Judy looked baffled for a moment, eyeing the fluffy object before casting a cursory glance back at the fox.

"I know you enjoy fluffy things as much as I do, and since we can't do much  _else_  while Ms Future Bunny Cop is next to us, I figure you could use a pillow."

The rabbit grinned, before leaning against his tail and snuggling against it, keeping it hidden from July who sat blinking oddly at them.

_Perhaps this won't be such a bad ride after all._

* * *

The trip into town wasn't bad at all. Despite being surrounded by bunnies, Nick and Judy felt oddly at peace, and freely talked, only being interrupted every now and then by one of Judy's many cousins who'd poke their head above their seat to ask them a question. Unfortunately, some of the younger bunnies saw Judy playing with Nick's tail and asked when it was their turn. Not wanting to subject her fox to the likely rough treatment of tiny, grabby, bunny paws, Judy had to give up her ' _pillow'_  so they'd stop asking.

The hour passed quickly as they conversed with Judy's siblings, many of whom still lived on the farm, prompting quite a few comedic stories about a younger Judy, which Nick stored away for later teasing. With the farmland of Bunnyburrow disappearing into the town proper, so did the feelings of calm that had pervaded the trip into the village.

"Are you serious?" Judy murmured, catching several vans passing by the tractor trailer, insignias of several news stations plastered across their sides, with large satellite dishes sitting atop the vehicles. "I thought Jack said this deal he cooked up would get them all out of town for us?"

Nick clicked his tongue in distaste as another news van, NBC's - Nightly Beaver Broadcasting - blazed past them. "As long as they're covering the festival, they can hope to catch us in-frame without quite violating the exclusivity contract. Sneaky little Castoroides." He did have to give them credit for the tactic, smirking slightly. "As a former con-mammal, I approve of that sort of loophole abuse, never expected to find myself on the other side of it, though," Nick murmured, not even attempting to hide his agitation. "Nothing we can do about it now, darling. I can almost smell the blueberries from here, and if those pies that your friend Gideon makes are as good as you say they are, Fluff, then there's  _no way_  we're leaving until I taste one."

Judy whipped out her phone, beginning to send a text to her sister, Jessica, who had driven the family truck to the fairgrounds, asking about how many news stations were in town.  _Maybe she and Jack can divert them for a bit, or speed up them leaving_...she thought. She groaned as another news van passed by. "I hope Jack wasn't fibbing about this deal," she muttered softly, causing Nick to frown. Just as she was about to click send on her text, Nick placed his paw over hers. She turned to him, confused as he shook his head.

"You know how you said I should give Jack a chance? I think here's another opportunity for another bunny to do the same. Most Zootopia news agencies aren't going to use up a camera crew on the Bunnyburrow Blueberry Festival if they know they won't get an interview with us. Sure, a few might stick around and use that loophole I mentioned, but it's not cost-effective for a lot of them. I'm sure Jack was being straight with us about the deal." Judy felt her ears heat up in embarrassment, letting out a sigh before she lowered her phone, pressing the delete key instead of send.

"Alright, I'll give them this once," Judy replied, looking carefully at her partner as he smirked at her. "One, not plural though. If we get accosted by any of them…"

"Then it won't be Jack's fault, and any reporter who gets in your face will have to contend with me," Nick stated calmly, leaning back into the chair. "I've seen you mad before, Carrots, and I've also seen what you did to Rhinovitch in that sparing match two months ago. I don't want to have to scrape a reporter out of the debris of what used to be a fence, just because you kicked them through it."

"Rhinovtich healed," Judy replied sheepishly, glancing down at her paws with a huff and a slight frown.

"Probably wishes he hadn't. You have no idea how much the others teased him, walking around with a black eye after sparring with someone your size," Nick added with a smirk. "Seriously, Carrots. You don't know your own strength like I do, you know, with how often you hit me."

"I wouldn't hurt Jack over this," Judy murmured, though in an even quieter voice Nick could hear her add, " _much.._."

"Remind me never to get you  _hopping_ mad, ok, Fluff?"

Judy rolled her eyes, jabbing Nick lightly in his arm. "Jerk," she mumbled through a grin.

"See, this is what I mean," Nick stated, laughing as Judy's ears fell behind her head. "We've got to identify and address the physical violence that is involved in this relationship," Nick mused, chuckling softly as the semi-truck pulled into a large parking lot just outside the center of town. "It would seem I might have to start going to some sort of victim counseling sessions to discuss in a group setting how my bunny likes to beat me."

"Just for that," Judy exclaimed, crossing her arms while smirking at the fox as the truck came to a stop, "No pie for you."

Nick's jaw dropped, and he collapsed back against the wooden bench, clutching at his heart.

"But without blueberries, there is no meaning to life," he melodramatically stated.

Judy smirked, "That's right. Without my  _Blueberries_ , there is no life worth living." Nick picked up on her meaning immediately, grinning widely while pretending to have died.

"I like blueberries too!" piped up one of her siblings.

"I like 'em more," shouted another.

As the shouting match over who liked blueberries the most raged around them, the two police officers were content to simply laugh at how none of her relatives knew what  _Blueberries_  they were arguing about.

* * *

It seemed as if the major news broadcasting stations had gotten the memo, and when the reporters saw the famous fox and rabbit hopping off of the tractor trailer in town, they gave them a wide berth, focusing instead on the annual blueberry festival and the town's preparations for the event. They did their best to try and get Nick and Judy in-frame, but given the size and density of the festival goers, a viewer would be hard pressed to pick the pair out of the crowd.

Judy smiled. "I wonder how their viewers are going to take it when they turn on the tv to see us, and instead see a podunk little berry festival?"

"Not all of them will," Nick growled, tapping Judy on her shoulder and pointing past the relatively few  _actual_  reporters in the area, to where nearly a dozen other mammals with cameras were situated. The fox matched eyes with a beaver in the group, who darted over towards them.

"We've got company," he drawled, rolling his eyes.

"So, do you have a plan for dealing with the paparazzi?" Judy asked, a mischievous grin on her face. "Because if you don't, I certainly do."

"I'm all ears, Fluff," Nick replied with an equally charming smirk.

"Really? I thought you were all fox?" Judy said with a wink.

"Oh no," Nick replied, chuckling as Judy took his paw in hers and led them towards the parking lot that was in front of the trailer parking. "Since meeting you, I believe I've become part rabbit, as I seem to have grown accustomed to having an appetite for  _Carrots_."

Judy ignored the rapidly rising blush in her cheek as Nick laughed. The doe caught sight of a group of her siblings and cousins, waving at them to garner their attention.

"What's up, Judy?" One of her younger littermates, a brother named Harold, stated as the fox and rabbit slowed to a stop before them.

"Can you guys run play twenty-four for us?" Judy asked. The other rabbit grinned.

"Why certainly," Harold chuckled, rubbing his paws together. He brought his paws to his mouth and whistled loudly, catching the attention of all the nearby members of the Hopps' clan.

"Everyone…" he yelled, his grin growing wider. "Play Twenty Four! Here! Now!"

"Should I know what play twenty four is?" Nick asked, as all the children in the entire Hopps' clan descended on their location.

"You'll see," Judy replied coyly, again grabbing his paw and directly him to bend down as she took off, yanking Nick along with her. The fox looked back, smirking as he saw the horde of rabbits now blocking the members of the paparazzi from getting to them, forming a living, breathing, fluffy wall of chaos which prevented anything from moving through it. The rabbit horde swarmed the group, all asking questions and causing a general stir as the paparazzi mammals tried forcing their way through the crowd.

"Over here," Judy breathed, as Nick followed her behind a line of rabbit sized vehicles. The pair swerved this way and that through the cars until they reached a second aisle of larger vehicles which abutted the fence that lined the entire length of the parking lot just opposite the fairgrounds.

Judy led him to the front of the cars, her arms out in front of her, showing Nick a very narrow, but crawlable path between the parked cars and the fence itself.

Nick grinned.

"Well, aren't you a sly bunny?" He smiled as they both hunched down, suddenly grateful there were much smaller than the massive vehicles which loomed over them, as they bolted down the narrow pathway. "Seems like someone is part fox now."

"Oh hush," Judy laughed, though quickly quieted as she heard the sound of several hoofbeats heading their way. Her ears turned towards the sounds, her nose twitching as she finally located where it was coming from. "Down here," Judy waved, motioning under a large SUV.

Crouching down, they wormed their way underneath the vehicle, which thankfully was high enough off the ground to where they just barely fit.

"Where'd they go?" they heard a voice yell out, as a pair of hooves clopped towards them and stopped in front of the car. "I thought I saw them over here a minute ago."

"You're always seeing things, Geoffrey," another voice stated, as a pair of black furred paws appeared next to the pair of hooves. "For a giraffe, you're pretty useless at finding mammals."

"Shut it, Clawson," the giraffe replied. "They were here a minute ago, I swear."

"Hey guys."

Nick jumped, knocking his head onto the undercarriage of the vehicle as Harold's head popped up next to the fox.

"Geez, give a fox a heart attack," Nick whispered, glaring at the rabbit while rubbing his head. "I think we need to put a bell on you or something." Harold ignored the look, and instead, turned to his sister. "Part two is underway. Jessica's inbound."

Judy nodded, then sent a smile as several more hooves appeared in front of the car.

"Did you guys here that?" the one called Geoffrey stated.

"Great, now you're hearing things."

"I'm telling you, I  _saw them_...and there she is!"

Nick smirked as the assorted pairs of hooves and paws in front of them disappeared, running off towards the far end of the parking lot. It wasn't until the thudding of the hooves disappeared entirely, that they crawled out from underneath SUV on the fence side, not wanting to risk being seen just yet, especially with the giraffe being a part of the paparazzi.

"Well, I have to say it, you have one strange family, Carrots," Nick laughed while dusting himself off. "So what  _exactly_  is play twenty four again? I'm not sure I caught your bunny lingo too well."

Judy rolled her eyes. "It's something Harold came up with when he wanted to get somewhere he wasn't supposed to go, and needed a distraction to pull it off. Usually by having his own twin pretend to be him. Usually he did it to get at the carrot cake in the fridge, but Mom caught on after a while."

Nick smiled, crossing his paws across his chest. "Clever bunny. I think you'd make an excellent fox."

Judy chose to ignore his comment, and instead, wiggled past the front ends of the line of vehicles, hearing grunts and groans from behind her as Nick tried squeezing past them as well.

Judy deftly slid past a vehicle parked particularly close to the fence, chuckling when she turned around to see Nick clamoring over the bumper in an attempt to squeeze past. "I think you need to lose some weight there, Nick."

"What, I thought you liked my body, Carrots?" he said, motioning to himself as he finally squeezed past, laughing when he noticed her ears turning red. The squealing of tires on pavement caused both of them to turn towards the sound. From where they stood, they managed to catch the tops of several vehicles racing down the road, following the Hopps' pickup.

"And that would be the final part of play twenty four," Judy laughed, motioning for Nick to head out back into the main road. "Jessica will lead them on a ride, get them far enough away so that we can enjoy ourselves for a bit. The fox gave a sigh of relief and quickly made his way around the vehicle, glaring at the license plate as he passed.

_A113..._ he mused.  _Maybe if I see them again I can ticket them for hazardous parking_.

"Remind me to thank your sister for her help, as well as Harold," Nick stated, rejoining Judy on the opposite side of the vehicle.

"Duly noted," Judy replied, noticing they were alone and grabbed Nick's paw, bringing it to her lips for a chaste kiss. The pair walked along the road, grateful that they no longer had to hide from reporters, cameramammals, or anyone else that may have tried to stop them.

The parking lot for the trucks and trailers, such as the one the Hopps' had driven to the festival, was a few blocks away from the actual festival, and on the edge of town. Several years prior, the congestion around each and every festival had gotten so bad, that the city council approved construction of a new parking area several blocks north of the fairgrounds, allowing for the trucks hauling in the large rabbit families to not clog the main streets.

It also meant that Judy could now show off her hometown to Nick, who was staring at the local businesses and architecture in half awe, half amusement.

"Is there some sort of city ordinance that every building is supposed to be rabbit-themed?" he asked, looking at all the merry bunny faces built into the facade of nearly every business.

"Not that I'm aware of," Judy replied, walking next to her partner, close enough to hold paws, but both still wary of the groups of animals walking around them. "I think it started as a way of drawing tourists in, but then most folks just went nuts over it."

Nick smirked, about to offer a witty retort when Judy paused, then gleefully took his paw in her own. "I have to show you this." Nick shook his head, admiring Judy's exuberance and trailed after her until they stood in front of a large brick bookstore. Several chairs, tables, and umbrellas were set up outside, and the smell of coffee and baked goods wafted from inside the store. Nick sniffed once, then smiled as the delicious smells assaulted his senses.

"I'm guessing this is where they baked your favorite carrot cake?" Nick jokingly stated, earning a roll of the eyes from his partner. The fox glanced at the large sign above the door. "Pawell's Book?"

"No, nobody can beat mom's carrot cake, but this is where I spent a lot of my time as a kit when I wanted some quiet time to study." Judy rushed to the door, swinging it open to the sound of a chime, motioning for Nick to enter. The fox smirked, then sauntered through the door and into a much different atmosphere than the busy street outside.

The store felt larger on the inside, given what Nick had observed from the street, and the usual musty smell of most libraries and bookstores he had visited on differing cons he had pulled, held no place here. The lighting was bright, the air smelled of fresh baked goods, and the only sounds came from a few overhead fans, or light conversations happening here and there. Rows upon rows of books lined the shelves which stretched from the floor to the ceiling. Nick wondered just how many books were in this place, or how long it would take to read them all.

"This is...quaint." Nick stated, looking around the store as Judy sped towards a spiral staircase leading to the second floor.

"Come on, Nick. Hurry up!" Judy stated with a wide grin as she was already halfway up the stairs, motioning for the fox to follow her. Nick did as he was asked, admiring the store as he ascended the stairs to the second level.

"So, what is it you wanted to show me, Carrots?" Nick asked, taking the final few steps two at a time before his gaze fell upon something he hadn't expected.

The second floor was  _much_  different than the entry level. Whereas the main level had row upon row of books that covered nearly the entire area, the second floor was divided into little reading nooks, with large mounds of pillows and beanbags, shaped like rabbits of course, in each cubby. Bookcases still lined the walls, but most of the area was devoted to the little reading nooks. A faux fireplace sat embedded in the far wall, creating a sort of rustic ambiance to the area that Nick felt was…well, charming, to say the least.

Judy bounced up to him as he walked further into the room. "So, what do you think?" she asked, her paws behind her back as she rocked back and forth on her hindpaws. "When I was studying for the police academy, I'd come here with my books, manuals, and study guides to help me prepare for it. This place," she waved her paw towards a specific reading nook adjacent to the fireplace, "well, actually,  _that_  spot right there, was my home away from home."

Nick walked over to the mentioned area, putting his paw to his chin, eyeing the spot carefully, as his tail swished lazily behind him. "Hmm, I've always wondered what kind of place it took to grow Carrots." He turned around, a lazy smirk on his face. "I didn't know all it took was a few pillows and a library."

"Nick…" Judy laughed, shaking her head. "If you want to think that's how you grow carrots, then go ahead, I won't judge you for it."

The fox chuckled, walking over to his partner. "Well, at least that is how my  _favorite_  Carrots grew. So that's what counts to me." He wrapped his paws around her in a hug, with her snuggling into it.

"Nick?"

"Yes, Judy?" he replied, stroking her ears.

"My family will be setting up for the festival for the next hour or so, and nothing really starts up until then as well, so, maybe…" she looked up into Nick's eyes, a smile tugging at her lips as her eyelids lowered. "Would you like to stay here for a bit?"

Nick faked looking aghast at her suggestion. "Why, Carrots? Are you saying you'd want to spend an hour,  _alone_ , in a library with a shifty fox, where  _nobody_  is around to see or hear us?"

"Is that what I said?" Judy replied coyly, her smile turning into a smirk before she leaned up to capture Nick's lips with her own. The kiss didn't last for as nearly as long as either of them wanted it to as Judy pulled away. "Why yes, that is exactly what I said. You. Me. Alone... _for an hour._ " She giggled as she pulled herself out of Nick's arms, leaving him semi-stunned. "Now come on, Slick, pick a book and we can snuggle!"

Nick smirked, lazily following the rabbit with his eyes. "I've been waiting  _all week_  to hear that from you, Fluff." He finally followed after her, glad that they finally had some time alone. Leaning his arm against the top of her head, he scanned the titles of the shelved books. "So, what are we reading today?"

* * *

The book they had eventually settled on was an interesting one to say the least. "The Legend of Juda and Niko", was the title, and, was based on a supposed legend of a fox and rabbit tribe making peace with another through the marriage of the fox tribes oldest son, Niko, and the rabbit's tribe oldest daughter, Juda.

It was an interesting story. Well, the first five pages they had managed to read, before their literary pursuits were discarded for…  _other_  pursuits. Pent up for a week, surrounded by her family, with neither of them able to show the other the affection they desired to share, meant that the first time they were actually alone, led to the overwhelming need for both of them to snuggle, kiss, and be as close as possible with each other.

It didn't help that their reading position was her sitting on top of his chest, snuggling into him while he clasped his arms around her waist, holding her close as she held the book up for them to read.

_I'm beginning to think Judy planned this..._ Nick wondered, after a particularly  _heated_  kiss. If so, he didn't mind one bit.

As they left, he made sure to buy a few carrot cupcakes and blueberry muffins for the walk to the festival, as well as the book for Judy.

In case they wanted to ' _read_ ' any more of it later. Hopefully they'd be able to manage some sort of privacy back at Judy's home after the festival today.

The blueberry festival...oh how Nick was excited for this event, as the pair made their way into the fairgrounds where the festivities were to take place. On the way from the bookstore, and in between bites of their muffins, Judy explained all the activities that would be happening during the day and into the evening. The blueberry harvest wasn't as big a celebration as the Carrot Days festival, however, it still brought in a lot of visitors from Zootopia, which made nearly all the local businesses set up stalls, rides to be brought in both large and small, and carnival games of all sorts to be displayed.

"So, have you ever been to a carnival before?" Judy questioned, watching as Nick's eyes darted about to the many different attractions and stalls surrounding them.

"Can't say I have," Nick stated, his ears perked up as he nose twitched. His eyes closed as he sniffed several more times, leaning towards where the smell was coming from, unknowingly licking his lips.

"Smell something you like?" Judy asked with an amused smile.

Nick simply nodded, allowing his nose and feet to lead him in the direction the magnificent smell was coming from. Judy simply followed him along, grinning as the fox deftly avoided the crowds of mammals around them in his search for his quarry.

Judy had a sneaking suspicion of what he was smelling. His nose was much keener than her own, but as they drew closer, and Nick picked up speed, she finally began to get a hint of where he was heading.

She smiled. "You and your blueberry addiction. Do I need to get you a support group for it?"

"Only if they serve blueberries at the meetings," Nick replied, coming to a stop before a larger stall, a gigantic banner atop of it with a large pie decorating the front, as well as the words, "Gideon's Bakery" above it. Nick's eyes wandered to the stand, where a rather portly fox wearing a pink apron was busily serving customers. "So this is the famous Gideon Grey…" Nick mused as Judy walked up to stand by his side.

"Yep, that's him," Judy replied. She was glad that the current expression Nick wore wasn't one of distaste for the other fox. The rabbit had already told Nick about the three scars on her left cheek that Gideon had given to her when they were kits. He had sat in a moody silence for several minutes afterwards, as Judy tried to explain how both her and Gideon were friends now, and that Nick didn't need to worry about him. H'ed eventually shrugged, deciding to simply trust Judy on it, then had changed the subject to something more affable.

"You're...good. With Gideon, right?" Judy plied, her ears lowered behind her head as she glanced towards Nick, the briefest flicker of worry darting across her eyes.

The fox arched an eyebrow in surprise at the rabbit's question, as well as the worry she showed that he catalogued for later reflection. Though his surprise only lasted a moment before he smirked.

"Carrots, how could I possibly be mad at anyone who bakes something that smells that heavenly."

A grin came to Judy's lips. "Then let's get some pie, shall we?" she asked pleasantly, though still, underneath the smile, was worried at how Nick's first meeting with her  _former_  bully was going to be.

It wasn't too long of a wait, considering the line they had to stand in was the longest of any at the fair. Soon enough, Nick was leaning against the counter, giving a lazy smirk to the fox working behind it.

"So, you're the famous Gideon Grey I've heard so much about…" Nick drawled, grabbing the attention of the mammal behind the counter, who swivelled to look at Nick. The hefty fox smiled, wiping his paws on his pink apron before giving the two officers his full attention.

"Well, I'm a hoping that they've all been good things," he started with a laugh. "As I reckon there's a good deal of both good and bad out there about me by this point."

Nick chuckled to keep himself from spurting out the first thing that came to his mind, which was,  _an equal helping of both._  Instead, the vulpine replied with a cheekish grin. "Well, I mainly came here to have a taste of some delicious pies that my partner here has been raving about."

It was then that the Gideon finally noticed the grey rabbit to Nick's side, and his eyes widened in surprise, then joy.

"Why, if it isn't Miss Judy. I'll be darned!" Gideon laughed, walking over to the side of the stall where the exit was. Judy smiled, walking over to meet him, her paw outstretched to shake with Gideon's, but the fox seemed to have other ideas.

Brushing aside her paw, Gideon enveloped the rabbit in a monstrous hug that nearly caused her to disappear in his arms. Nick gaped at the expression, his paw automatically going to his hip, already grasping for the police issued stun baton that he usually carried on his belt. It was only when his paw closed around empty space that he remembered where he was.  _You're not on duty, you're not in Zootopia, and that fox isn't attacking Judy_ , Nick repeated to himself in his head as he forced his body to relax out of the combat stance he had unconsciously adopted. He managed to unclench his coiled leg muscles, but only really managed to calm himself once the other fox set Judy back onto the ground and stepped away.

It was then Nick realized he could breathe again, and let out a deep lungful of air. Apparently, the danger to them in the city was affecting him more than he realized. Thoughts of what could have just happened if Gideon  _had_  been a threat to Judy were racing through his mind. They really didn't know who was after them, and with all the mammals at the festival, especially now that the general public knew they were here, any of them could be linked to the killers back in Zootopia.

_This was a bad idea..._ Nick thought suddenly, as he began scanning the crowds around them, feeling a slight bit of panic building inside him. The muskrat reading the paper, casually watching the crowds perked his interest. The mountain lion leaning against a lamp post, seeming to be searching for someone.

_Or maybe us…_

Nick shook his head.  _You're growing paranoid, stop it. No mammal is going to do anything out here in public._ He again scanned the crowd.  _It's too crowded, too many witnesses…_  He forced his mind to slow, breathing deeply, calming his racing heart. He looked to Judy, who was too busy staring wide eyed at the gesture from Gideon, to even realize the momentary panic attack he was having behind her.

"So glad to see ya again. Was worried about ya after hearing what yer folks were saying lately 'bout your city adventures and what not. 'Fraid I might not see you in one piece again." Gideon smiling fondly at the rabbit.

"But I'm sure as glad that you are still all safe and sound," Gideon continued before turning to Nick, who desperately tried to force a smile through the lingering panic attack he had barely suppressed.

"And that must make you her partner," he held out his paw for Nick to shake, which Nick took after a moment's stare at the gesture and a quick nudge from Judy. "It's a great honor to meet the first fox officer out there in the big city. You're doing us foxes mighty right by yer example. I've even noticed the change around these here parts. Your example is changing things for the better."

Glancing down at Judy, who had snuck back to his side at some point, Nick couldn't help but feel a sudden swelling of pride at the look she was giving him.

"So, about those pies," Nick offered, forcing his mind back to the conversation and away from his paranoid thoughts. Breathing through his nose deeply, he was almost surprised at the delicious scent of freshly baked pies, which managed to bring a smile back to his face.  _Note to self, fresh pies cure paranoia attacks..._ he snickered internally."Do you happen to make them in blueberry?"

He waved a paw offhandedly at Judy who had begun laughing at him.

"Why of course," Gideon replied, chuckling heartily as he crossed back behind the counter. "And don't worry about the price, it's on the house."

"Sorry Gideon, but that would be bribing an officer," Nick replied calmly. Ther other fox raised an eyebrow, chuckling nervously.

"Uh, is that true, Miss Judy?" Gideon asked, his smile conveying more worry than cheerfulness at the moment.

" _Technically_ ," she sheepishly replied. "Nick's right. We're not supposed to accept gifts as officers, so..." she finished with a weak smile, which practically stated, ' _would we like to have free pies? Yes, yes we would have."_

"Fortunately," Nick broke back in, smirking widely. "We're not on duty, and Bunnyburrow is well outside our jurisdiction. So I think we can let it slide, just this once. It's for the blueberries, after all."

"Wonderful! A pair of free pies for my favourite mammals in blue,," Gideon remarked with a smile. "So, what'll it be?"

"I'll take a blueberry pie with extra cream on top," Judy said excitedly, her tail twitching slightly. Nick noticed the subtle movement with a chuckle.

Not that he was looking at her tail...

"Oh, with some carrot shavings with it as well," Judy added as a second thought after spotting that option on the menu board.

"Alright," Gideon drawled, writing the order down on a notepad with a smile. "And what'll it be for you?"

"I'll have the same as my partner here, along with a blueberry tart." He leaned his elbow onto Judy's head with a smirk, as the rabbit rolled her eyes and huffed at her partner's move.

"Alright, two blueberry pies with whip, carrot garnish on one, and an extra blueberry tart," Gideon repeated. "Coming right up!"

"Just in curiosity's sake, how much would that be normally?"

Gideon laughed. "Oh, I reckon somewhere along the lines of five Zoomoleans."

Nick coughed, his eyes going wide at the cost of the three items.

"Five Zoomoleans?" Nick gawked, staring at Judy."How…" He looked to Judy for an answer to his non-question. "I can't even get a sniff of a pie at a bakery in Zootopia for that price!"

"That's Bunnyburrow for you," she exclaimed with a shrug, grabbing two cups of water off the counter. "I'll go find us a table, alright?"

"Alright," Nick answered in a half daze, staring back up at the menu, realizing he should have ordered  _a lot_  more than what he did. "We're going to need to come out here more often," he mumbled, turning back around when he realized he should probably watch Judy so he would know where to go with their food.

Nick watched her bound off towards a smattering of tables and benches nearby, smiling as he saw her greeting random strangers with a cheerful hello, or outright chuckling when she placed the waters on a nearby table so she could sign an autograph for an excited young rabbit.

_She really is quite special..._ Nick thought as he watched her sauntering off, his mind flooding with memories of all the reasons why he had grown to love her.

He knew they needed to tell her parents about their relationship, and the sooner would probably be for the better, as his smile slowly dipped at the thought. He knew it would come up eventually, either that, or they'd be caught together, doing things that ' _just partners'_ , shouldn't be doing. For a topic this important, he and Judy needed to be the ones to bring it up, control the situation and make sure that everything was going to work out just fine. Nick loved his spunky, beautiful rabbit too much to let a surprise ruin their chances together. And he'd never forgive himself if things went badly and Judy was forced to choose between him and her family.

_We need to tell them tonight..._

His ponderings over Judy were interrupted at a cough behind him. He turned to see a weasel holding out a tray that was slightly too big for him, containing his and Judy's orders. Nick jumped, quickly grabbing the tray, allowing the weasel's arms to relax, before he walked back into the kitchen behind the stand.

Nick turned around, frowning at the sight. All around him were bunnies walking here and there, with a few other animals mixed in, and in the sea of mammality, he had completely lost where Judy had gone.

"Where did she head off to," he mumbled to himself, while beginning to trudge around the eating area, keeping a steady watch for where she might have gone. Even trying to catch her scent was hard, as the multitudes of rabbits made it nearly impossible to pick her out of the crowd.

The distracting smell of fresh blueberry pie wafting into his nostrils didn't help either.

Finally, after several long minutes, he spotted her, standing next to an elm tree at the far edge of the picnic area. His smile perked back up as he began walking towards her.

"Ah, wondering where you went off to, Carrots. I was about to eat your pie, carrot shavings and all, when..." Nick began, only for his voice to trail off as he rounded the table, and noticed another male rabbit speaking with Judy.

Quite close, at that.

Judy turned, her eyes filled with apparent relief as she ran over to Nick's side.

"Nick, I was wondering where you went!" She said, a bit more enthusiastically than normal. He noticed her mouthing the words,  _help me get rid of him,_ and chuckled. The other rabbit seemed to pay no mind to the awkwardness of the situation, and simply sauntered forward, paw out. Nick took it tepidly and with a false smile.

"Sam Mccree," the buck stated in a surprisingly deep voice for a rabbit, while tipping a large brimmed cowboy hat.

"Nick Wilde," came the fox's steady reply, as Mccree's eyes went back to studying Judy, and not in a most tactful way.

_Ogling_  might have been a better word for what the male rabbit was currently doing.

Nick felt a growl urging itself to be released, but managed to keep it down, instead, his paw went to Judy's instinctively, with her gripping it tightly, while also leaning slightly against him.

"I have to say, I'm surprised to find you here," Sam stated, his smile broadening as he took a step closer to Judy. "Haven't seen you in such a long time. We should get together to catch up. Like old times on the track team."

Nick responded by taking a step forward himself, tucking Judy against his side and slightly behind, his tail wrapping gently around her feet as he fought the urge to bare his teeth. He could feel jealousy and protectiveness flaring brightly inside him, and the nervous, faux grin which Judy had on wasn't helping in keeping those feelings down.

"Maybe some other time," Judy squeaked out, replying in a most non-Judy way. "Nick and I are spending the day,  _together_."

"As well as the rest of the week," Nick added curtly, glaring down at the buck. "And since our pies are are a top priority now... "We would like to eat them in peace...the two of us. Just Judy, and I."  _Meaning without your company, so get lost!_

"Oh... _oh_ ," Mccree replied, his smile turning to a frown as he checked his watch. "Well, would you look at that, it's high noon already. Gotta run! Hope to see  _you_  later, Judy," he added with a wink and a nod of the hat. Nick fought the growl that threatened to burst forth as the male rabbit turned and casually strolled away. It wasn't until he disappeared from sight that Judy let out a deep breath, and the knot forming in Nick's chest started to loosen, though his paw holding tight to Judy's did not.

"Oh thank goodness you came," she replied, placing the tray onto the table before quickly turning and enveloping Nick in a hug. Nick barely returned it, his mind still focused on that twisting feeling in his stomach. His tepid response must have been noticed, as Judy slowly released the hug, her eyes catching his in an thoughtful gaze. "Nick, you ok?"

Nick returned her gaze, feeling the twisting feeling in his gut settle somewhat as their eyes met. A smirk slowly returned to his face. "Of course, Carrots. Everything's fine," he replied though inwardly, everything did  _not_  feel fine.

Usually he was in such control over his emotions, his motto,  _Never let them see that they get to you_ , guided his life for decades now. Now? Only a few days into a relationship that he felt was the most important one he'd ever had, and his emotions had suddenly decided that, in fact, things  _did very much get to him_.

They were trying to keep their relationship covert before telling Judy's parents, and as he looked down, he mentally groaned as he saw how they were holding paws,  _and_ , his tail was acting as a virtual blanket for her.

_So smooth Wilde...you're really doing well at this whole covert relationship deal._

The pair sat down to eat, an awkward silence overtaking them as Nick's thoughts kept bringing him back to those feelings from earlier. Why had he been jealous of Sam? Judy didn't seem to like the bunny at all, in fact, she seemed more nervous than anything else, which was saying something as she'd taken down a lion all by herself just a few months earlier without a shred of nervousness in her eyes. What was it about this Mccree that caused her to tense, and him to feel...jealous?

"Nick, you ok?"

The question from Judy finally brought him out of his inner thoughts. He gave a heavy sigh. Wanting to hide his emotions from Judy was like trying to hide an elephant in Little Rodentia. She always had a way to pick his walls apart, brick by brick, and find what was hidden behind it.

"I'm good now, Carrots," he finally replied, placing his plastic fork next to his half finished slice of pie.

"If you are worried about Sam, don't be. He was a creepy stalker of mine in high school, always running behind me on the track team, watching my tail, waiting for me outside the changing rooms," Judy sighed, before looking at Nick. "So you have no need to be jealous of him. If anything, the only thing I'd feel like doing with him is spraying him with lion deterrent."

Nick laughed in response, Judy's good cheer and humor helping to loosen the knot in his stomach that lingered from the near-confrontation. Not that he  _wasn't_  feeling a bit jealous when he spotted the rabbit talking her up, but he knew it wasn't a threat to their relationship. It was just another hit on top of Nick's already fragile control that made him react so strongly.

He needed a release, and thankfully, Judy had offered him one without hesitation.

"Thanks, Judy. I  _was_ feeling a bit on the jealous side back there, not that I thought you'd ever go for someone like  _that_ ," he jutted out his thumb in the direction Sam went, " And I know I shouldn't feel like that at all. I trust you. And we did have a rather nice time  _reading_  earlier, so I'm fairly secure in my masculinity at the moment." The vulpine smirked as Judy blushed, her ears falling behind her as a nervous, yet happy smile crept upon her face.

"Though, with all the craziness that has been going on lately, it hasn't felt like we've had time to develop our relationship much, even though it is strong to begin with. I mean, I haven't even taken you out on a real  _date_  yet!" Nick laughed, placing his paws on top of the table. "I just feel like I haven't been able to truly show you how I feel about you, since we're always having to hide it."

Nick sighed. "That, plus the fact that I nearly jumped Gideon earlier after he gave you that bearhug. No, wait," Nick raised a paw to stop Judy as she drew a breath to defend her ex-bully turned family friend. "Just hear me out, Judy."

Judy quickly closed her still open mouth, realizing that he had used her actual name, which meant something important was about to be said. "I'm listening."

The fox took in a quick, deep breath. "I wasn't worried because he hurt you when you were both kids. You've explained to me many times that you're both past that and are friends now. And I'm the last person who should be on someone's case for bad decisions they made in the past."

"It's just...when we were in the crowd, and I realized that everybody knew we were here, I couldn't stop myself from seeing danger in everybody. We have no idea who is after us back in Zootopia. I was waiting for assassins to leap out from behind every bystander and when Gideon grabbed you like that..."

" _Nick_ ," Judy soothed, reaching her paw out to cover his own. "You don't  _have_  to show me how much you care for me by taking me out on dates, or lavishing gifts on me, or wanting to tackle  _ex_ -bullies. And, although I do appreciate you being on the lookout for hypothetical assassins, I doubt they frequent the Bunnyburrow Annual Blueberry Festival, even if we have the best pies around that some mammals would die for." Judy laughed softly at the small huff Nick let out at her teasing statement.

"I eventually came to the same conclusion,  _fortunately_  before I tackled anybody," Nick replied, deadpan, before ruffling Judy's ears, somewhat to her consternation as she fussed at his paws with her own.

"It isn't that I  _have_ to," he eventually replied, staring into Judy's eyes. "It's that I  _want_  to do those things for you, Judy. You  _deserve_ them." Nick looked around the eating area, noticing the many mammals walking around. Several couples stuck out noticeably to him, their paws or hooves interconnected, or arms around each other's waists. "Carrots...I  _want_  to be able to do what all other couples we see are doing." He motioned with his free paw towards a couple of horses sitting several tables down from them, nuzzling. Turning back to Judy, he noticed her ears had fallen behind her head. Sighing, he reached across the table, cupping her chin in his paw, leaning her head up so he could see into her eyes, those dazzling amethysts he had grown to adore.

"Judy, wouldn't it be great if we didn't have to show each other affection, only when there is nobody else around?" Nick knew he was treading on some rather thin ice here. He  _knew_  how a lot of mammals might react to them dating. It made him beyond worried about how Judy might take those animal's responses. Would it crush her to know that a fox and a rabbit might receive more dirty looks than polite smiles?

"I want that too, Nick."

And just like that, those tiny doubts washed away in a flood of relief.

Squeezing his paw, she smiled brightly at him. "I'm serious about us, Nick, and I really want to tell my parents about our relationship. I don't want to hide  _this…_ " she stroked his paw with her own, her smile growing as a hint of a smile tugged at the corners of Nick's own mouth. "We may not have had much time to ourselves lately…"

"You mean no time," Nick laughed.

Judy rolled her eyes while offering a laugh of her own. "But tonight, let's change that."

The raised eyebrow from Nick brought yet another shake of the head from Judy. His tail started wagging behind him.

"Let's make this our first date," Judy merrily stated. "We may have spent lots of time together as partners at work, and being stuck at that carrot-forsaken safe-house," Judy shuddered.

"What, you don't like being stuck with me there, Carrots?" Nick quipped, his sarcasm erupting in spades as he placed a paw over his heart and a smirk painted itself onto his muzzle. "Here I was thinking you  _enjoyed_  our time together there."

Her eyes went wide. "No, no...that's not what I meant...ugh…" She went from shocked, to worried, then finally settled on glaring at the fox with a coy smile, which, after staring at the smirk he held, only lasted a few seconds.

"Dumb fox."

"Dumber bunny."

"That...isn't even a word!" Judy sputtered, causing Nick to laugh, which in turn, caused Judy to giggle.

"Carrots," the fox said with a grin, his laughter dying down. "Tonight's the night, then?"

It took a moment for his question to sink it. Today would be the day they would tell her parents about them. What would her parents think of Nick? Would the approve of him? Did he meet all of her mother's criteria for a boyfriend to one of her daughters? Maybe being her partner at work would sway them in his favour?. Thinking of work, how would Bogo react to them being partners in more ways than one?

_Questions for another day_...she thought, staring back into the emerald eyes of her boyfriend.

Whatever would happen, they could pull through it.

She nodded. "Yep."

"Are you sure?" Nick questioned, as his own mind going over all the possible things that could happen. Would her family mind him being a fox? With how they were viewed as public figures, how would Zootopia treat them?

Treat  _her_?

But the look in her eyes silenced the fears he had for that moment. They spoke volumes of her love for him, and the strength infused in her gaze, told him all he needed to know.

"Well then, tonight's the night I get to find out if your dad still owns that fox taser of his."

Judy laughed, shaking her head while giving his a casual glance. "I'll make sure to hide it before we talk with him."

"Thank you, I'm glad you are as protective of your sly fox, as he is of his dumb bunny."

"Keep calling me that, and maybe I just  _give_  him the taser," she shot back with a grin.

"Oh, really?" Nick drawled, leaning across the table, his muzzle quite close to her own.

_Two can play at that game_...Judy thought with a grin, leaning in as well, as she did her best to give him a sultry glare. " _Really._ "

It was a staredown between the two. The immovable object of Nick's stubbornness, against the unstoppable force of Judy Hopps. Neither blinked as they kept up the staring contest between them.

That was, until Judy decided she'd wasted enough time, and leaned forward quickly, booping her nose to his own.

Nick sat backwards, flustered as his nose twitched.

"Guess you got some rabbit in you after all," Judy tapped her nose and laughed as Nick covered his nose with his paws.

"Come on," Judy stated, standing up from the table, finishing off the last bite of pie she had. She hopped over to Nick's side, grabbing his paw from over his nose and dragged him off the bench. "There's still a lot more to see here, and I want to show you  _everything_  as part of our first official  _date._ "

Nick groaned, but only in jest as he was quite excited himself. With how enthused the rabbit was, how could he not be? The fox hefted himself off from his seat, managing to grab his danish and stuffing it in his mouth before being pried away from the table.

"Come on, Foxtrot, let's see how you handle the tilt-a-whirl!"

Nick smiled, as her partner's excitement was infectious. "As you wish."

The left the table, racing off towards the rides section of the carnival, oblivious to the stares, bewildered expressions, and words spoken in hushed tones between animals, behind them. 


	25. A Fair Way to Die

 

"Oh come on Nick, it wasn't  _that_  bad."

The fox held up his paw as he wobbled off the ride, clutching his stomach. "Carrots, not now. I'm going to hurl."

Nick stumbled towards the nearest trash can, readying himself to empty the contents of his stomach into it.

_Why did I order that blueberry pie AND tart..._ he thought, trying to calm himself. He heard laughter behind him as Judy waltzed up to his side, rubbing his back.

"Geez Nick, with all the crazy things we've done while on chases and cases, you'd think you'd be used to rides like that.

" _Nothing_  we've done has been like that," Nick huffed, though grateful at the sudden back rub as it felt like it was helping calm his stomach. He turned his head, annoyed at the cheerful smile Judy had on. "And as much as I like blueberries, I don't like seeing them a second time after eating them."

"Well, if you can't handle that, then that only leaves the rides for kits left."

"Then a kit I will be!" Nick exclaimed raising his paw into the air and pointing at the sky. "Let's go do the Tilt-a-Whirl again." He paused, his gaze narrowing at Judy. "Just don't spin it like last time."

A very bemused smile lit Judy's face. "What ever do you mean,  _dear_?"

"I'm an elk," a nearby mammal stated, casting a confused glance at the rabbit and fox. Nick snickered as Judy turned to try and explain the situation to the mammal, only for the elk to grumble something about ' _dumb bunnies'_  before stalking off.

"So…" Nick quipped. "Tilt-A-Whirl?"

* * *

 

They did the Tilt-A-Whirl again, only after Judy promised not to spin it like last time. She kept her promise, and didn't spin it like she had.

She spun it the exact opposite way.

"I asked you not to spin it like last time!" Nick groaned, clutching his stomach as he stumbled off the ride.

"Oh, but I didn't, Slick," Judy laughed with a coy smile, placing a paw on her hip. "It's called a hustle, sweetheart. You should know that by now."

Nick waved his paw at the rabbit, narrowing his gaze as he stumbled towards a nearby trashcan. "I am  _never_  going to ride  _anything_ with you again."

"Even riding in the police cruiser?" Judy asked slyly.

" _Especially_  the cruiser," Nick added as he leaned against the trash can, hoping his guts wouldn't find themselves wanting fresh air anytime soon.

"Alright, I'll try to keep your sensitivities to movement in mind next time we go for a drive," Judy said with a mock pout.

"Thank you," Nick muttered, groaning as he unceremoniously laid his head onto the rim of the metal container, sighing contentedly. "Oh...this feels nice." Patting the side of the trashcan, he managed a weak chuckle. "I think this is my new favorite spot here, Carrots. Besides Gideon's food stall that is."

With a roll of her eyes, Judy grabbed Nick's paw and dragged him away from the waste receptacle as he frantically grabbed at it. "Come on, Nick," she huffed. "Let's find you a seat where you can cool off, hot fox"

"As long as it isn't spinning in three directions," Nick murmured, ears down and tail dragging behind him. "Again, how can you  _stand_  those rides."

Judy glanced at the ride they had just been on, one where the rider sat in a chair which both spun vertically and horizontally, all while the ride itself spun in a circle. She shrugged. "I guess that's just a ride that foxes can't handle."

They found a bench and Nick collapsed onto it.

"Oh the joys of an unmoving bench," Nick groaned, patting the chair as Judy chuckled.

"I'm guessing you want to stick to something on the ground for a while?"

Nick nodded, "Would I like that? Yes, yes I would."

"We could try for carnival games then, if you'd like."

His head slowly raised from between his knees, "Aren't those the ones where you have to throw darts at balloons and win prizes, or something like that?"

His partner nodded.

"That's one type, but there are quite a few different games to try, that is..." Gazing at Nick, she noticed his frazzled fur, strained look in his eyes, wilted tail and lowered ears. Feeling a sudden stab of sympathy and regret, Judy realized that maybe she'd had a little  _too_  much fun at her boyfriend's expense.

"Hey Nick?" she softly stated, letting her paw move to cover his own. The fox let out a low 'hmm' in response. "I just want to apologize for taking you on all those rides. I thought you might have been exaggerating your discomfort a bit."

"It's ok Carrots," Nick slurred, leaning his head forward again so he could look at her more easily. "Just, maybe only one every hour next time. Or maybe we don't ride the one called Fox's Gambit."

Judy winced at the memory. The ride itself was one of her favorite growing up, one where they'd strap you into a seat that nearly continually flipped you head over tail, while the ride itself swished back and forth like a pendulum.

"Sorry," she squeaked out, her ears falling as Nick easily waved his paw.

"Don't be. At least I can say that, for a bunny, you  _definitely_  aren't afraid of foxes." He gave her a cheeky grin and a wink as she giggled.

Nick moved his paw and placed it around Judy's shoulder, pulling her tightly against his side. Reaching behind her, she held his paw, gently rubbing it as they sat for a while, each enjoying the peace the moment brought with it.

After several minutes, Nick leaned forward, stretching his arms and letting out a rather large yawn, his tongue lolling out of his mouth comedically. Judy laughed as he closed his mouth, grinning coyly at her.

"So," Nick began, gazing down at Judy. "I thought I heard you say something about  _tame_  carnival games we could play?"

Judy nodded as she hopped off the bench, offering her paw to the fox with a coy smile and her ears half folded bent. "I did mention those," she replied, pausing before adding. " _If_  you're feeling up to getting beaten by a rabbit, that is." She completed her sentence by placing her other paw against her hip while motioning him forward with her paw in a classic, 'bring it on' stance.

"I'm already used to that from our sparring matches, you know," Nick laughed, taking her outstretched paw as she helped hims stand, much of his earlier wooziness gone. "But I believe if you are thinking you can beat me, just because you've been to this podunk festival a few times when I haven't, you have another thing coming to you. You are dealing with a  _master_  hustler, Fluff."

"Is that a challenge, Slick?" Judy taunted.

Nick smirked at her before walking in the direction of the carnival games, tilting his head over his shoulder. "Just call it a premonition."

* * *

As it turned out, Nick actually  _was_  quite good at the games they had played so far, and after competing in a ring toss, basketball shoot, dart throw, along with several others, Judy was growing visibly frustrated. With the last game they played being Whack-A-Bug, a game she usually destroyed her siblings at, Nick had easily and effortlessly trounced her.

"I'm telling you Carrots, there's a pattern to where the bugs come up."

"But it is supposed to be completely random," Judy sputtered, her arms flailing in front of her. "You can't predict random."

Nick simply shrugged. "We could always play again if you'd like me to prove it to you."

"No thanks," Judy grumbled.

"Well, we still need one more game to play," Nick stated, shuffling the four stuffed carrots he held in his paws. "As I think we need five of these little guys before we can upgrade to that big one I saw you had your eye one."

One of Judy's eyebrows arched. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Slick."

"Oh I think you do," Nick laughed, leaning down to smirk closer to her. "You know, the one as big as you are and that if you took the stuffing out of you could probably wear as a Halloween costume…"

"Oh hush you," she playfully shoved the smirking fox, who over-exaggerated the push, allowing himself to be shoved several feet over.

Unfortunately for him, a rather large display of plush carrots was in the way of his performance, tripping the fox. A quick stumble and fall later, Nick found himself buried in the fluffy display. Judy couldn't suppress her laughter as Nick tried to pull himself out of the pile of cotton-filled carrots.

"Hey,  _fox!_ What do you think you're doing?! Get out of there! I don't want you stealing anything!" the stall owner, a rather old looking goat, bellowed as he shook his cane in Nick's direction.

Judy frowned, raising her paw. She was about to let the stall owner get a piece of her mind, when Nick put both her paws up in a placating manner.

"I'm  _terribly_  sorry sir. This was all an unfortunate misunderstanding and I apologize for my clumsiness."

"A clumsy fox, hmph. More likely a shifty one." The stall owner narrowed his eyes. "I'm watching you,  _fox._ "

Nick dusted himself off before fixing the display, only to have the goat shoo him away, again accusing him of trying to steal one of the toys.

"I'm watching you," the old codger yelled as Judy and Nick walked away, the rabbit wrapping her arm around her fox. "And stay away from that rabbit, you pelt!"

Through her embrace, Judy felt Nick twitch at the insult, though besides that, he was the perfect semblance of calm with the storm he had just weathered. Looking into his eyes, she didn't see any sort of emotion behind them, just his normal  _'don't let them see that they get to you'_ stare he so often wore. He seemed to have noticed her watching him, and gave her a slight smirk.

"Guess someone had a baaad day."

Judy rolled her eyes before hip-bumping. "Should I have known you would say that?"

"I'd hate to see the day I become  _that_  predictable, Carrots," Nick chuckled as the pair perused more stalls.

"Oh, looks like we're here already," Nick announced. "Found the last game we can play, Jude the…"

He grimaced as she elbowed him, giving him a  _very_  cold glare. "Do  _not_  call me that…" she warned, before turning her attention to the last carnival game on the row.

Judy's eyes opened wide. "Seriously?"

Before them, hanging from the top of the stall, was a stuffed carrot that Judy felt could probably fit Nick comfortably inside of it.

"Nick, are you sure you wouldn't want that for yourself?" Judy questioned, her eyes sparkling with a hint of deviousness behind them, which accompanied an equally duplicitous smile. "You could make it your Halloween costume. Wouldn't even need any face paint as your fur matches it."

"Alright, real funny, Carrots," Nick mumbled. "No, this is one of those stands that we can combine the four plushies we have and earn that big one right there." The fox pointed at the large plush as they closed upon the stand.

The bored looking attendant, a light brown colored young rabbit, leaned tiredly against the counter.

"Does the lady want to try for the prize?" the stall manager asked lazily, covering his mouth as he yawned, all while pointing behind him at a stack of metal milk jugs. "If you knock all those down, you can win the 'Big Carrot' prize." The male rabbit made an attempt of waving his paws in excitement, but it came off more as looking like he was surrendering to them.

"Well, shouldn't it be up to the lady's boyfriend to give her tokens of his love?" Judy suggested coyly, laughing as the rabbit behind the counter nearly fell off his stool at her statement.

"You two are dating?" He blubbered, righting himself on the stool.

Judy's eyes narrowed as she leaned against the counter. "Is that a  _problem?"_  The doe was frankly tired of the speciest they'd been receiving today. First the goat, and now this rabbit?

"No, of course not," the stall manager murmured, brushing his paw over his ears. "So, do...do you want to play or not?"

"What do you say, Fluff? Think this fox could win his  _cute_ little rabbit a prize?"

The manager of the stall stiffened. "Uh, sir. You...you know that a bunny can call another bunny cute, but when other animals do it..."

Nick smirked, "...it's still absolutely true. In her case at least." He jabbed a paw towards Judy who punched him playfully in his arm. Nick laughed and leaned against the counter. "So, how much does this game cost."

The stall manager replied nervously. "It's only five Zoomoleans." Holding a softball in his paw, he extended it out to Nick, who took it, eyeing the small object. The fox turned to make a humorous quip about how much Judy has been costing him lately, when he noticed her attention wasn't on him or the game at all. He followed her line of sight, and frowned.

A small rabbit with a telephoto lens was leaning against a pole several stalls away, snapping pictures of herself and Nick, at least until he spotted the doe glaring at him and quickly darted around a nearby stall, with only his head sticking out from behind the wall, as his camera still focused on them.

"Okay, that's enough of that," Nick said, quickly grabbing Judy's arm as she began to walk towards where the paparazzi bunny had disappeared. "He isn't worth it. Besides, we have a ball to throw at some bottles."

"Or at that camera," Judy muttered, glancing up at the ball in Nick's paw. Nick frowned, folding his arms across his chest. Something was eating at Judy, he could just tell, but here in front of the stall was not a place to discuss it.

_Maybe we can ride the ferris wheel next..._ he thought, hoping that the privacy of a private area on that ride might lead to a fruitful discussion on introducing Judy to the speciest hate he had known his entire life, and that she was about to receive as well for dating a fox.

Opting for humor to help calm Judy down, he tossed the softball a few times in his paw. "Besides, you throw like a bunny, remember? You'd more likely hit that poor pig with a cane than that small camera."

She glared at Nick, causing him to nervously take a step back from the angry bunny, who's eyes stared into his soul.  _Maybe that wasn't the right thing to say..._ Nick mused as Judy pointed behind him. His eyes followed her paw towards a dunk tank game a good 100 feet away from where they were standing. Before he even knew what had happened, Judy had leaped up, grabbed the ball out of his paw, rotated in the air and threw the ball straight at the target. It nailed the red circle dead center, sending the surprised antelope sitting above the dunk tank toppling into the water below him.

Judy turned around, a very satisfied look on her face as Nick's jaw dropped. "You were saying, Slick?"

"You needed that for you to play the game, Fox."

Both fox and rabbit looked at the stall manager, who was trying to glare at Nick, but suddenly grew a semi-frightened look as Judy cast a disapproving glance at him. Nick couldn't help but smirk.

"I think I want to give this a try,  _rabbit_ ," Nick stated, leaning over to grab his wallet from his pocket. "You said we only had to knock down the milk jugs, right?" Nick nodded to Judy, mouthing the word,  _"pen"_  as he placed his money on the counter. A momentary look of confusion graced her features, before a sly grin appeared on her face. She nodded, reaching into her pocket to press down on a button on a certain carrot-shaped object within.

"What are we doing, Nick?" Judy asked, as with the fox leaning over towards her, it allowed her to easily whisper into his ear.

"Just a second, Carrots," Nick replied. "Just follow my lead and I think this bunny bumpkin will find that foxes live up to their reputation as being  _sly_."

"That's correct," the manager stated, eyeing the pair inquisitively. "Just knock down the jugs and you win a small carrot. Five smalls equal a large."

"Good, that's good. So we just have to knock down the jugs then," Nick murmured, looking down at Judy who pulled her paw from her pocket with a wink. The fox lazily leaned against the counter, smirking at the manager while talking to his partner. "Hey Carrots, remember how we took down that cheetah last month?"

Judy grinned up at Nick, his plan finally clicking into place. "I sure do. I'm sure that mammal hadn't expected the ZPD's two finest officers to take him down."

The rabbit behind the stall's ears twitched, then, in a moment of clarity, his eyes widened and his paw shot up, pointing at Judy. "You're Officer Hopps?"

She nodded. "That would be correct, and the fox here that you insulted just so happens to be my partner, Officer Wilde."

Nick gave the rabbit a lazy two finger salute before turning to face his partner. "So, ready to win your Big Carrot, Carrots?"

Nick placed the four small plush carrots he held onto the counter, then held out his paws with a smirk, matching the coy grin Judy had plastered on her muzzle. Judy jumped up into Nick's waiting paws, grabbing her legs to form herself into a tight ball. Nick took a few steps back from the stall, and focused on the tower of milk jugs.

"Now hold on just a carrot-picking minute," the stall owner blubbered as Nick closed one eye, focusing on the target.

Neither Nick or Judy paid him any attention as Nick wound up.

"One Judy fastball special, coming up!"

Nick took several steps forward before tossing Judy with all his might towards the jugs. As she careened towards the jugs, she turned in mid-air just as she neared the targets, slamming her feet into the bottom milk jugs at full force.

The metal jugs cracked as the entire tower flew backwards, with most of the jugs shooting out past the back flap of the tent. Judy came to rest near the now empty stand, dusting her paws off before hopping up onto the table that separately her from Nick. The stall manager stood there gaping at them, as Judy jumped up and pulled down the large carrot plush hanging above them.

"You..you cheated! You can't do... _THAT!_  Give that back! _"_ the stall worker yelled, pointing at Judy, then at Nick.

"On the contrary, my  _cute_ , fluffy friend," Nick replied, motioning to Judy, who retrieved the carrot pen from her pocket. She pressed the play button.

_"That's correct, just knock down the jugs and you win the "Big Carrot,"_ a voice repeated from the pen.

Nick smiled. "You only said to knock down the pens, and you never clarified  _how_  to achieve that _..._ "

"It's with the softball of course," the manager blared, pointing at the object that was still near the dunk tank.

Judy waggled her finger at the stall keeper. "I've read each and every sign on your stall, and not a single one mentions using a  _softball_  to knock down the pens.

The stall owner's jaw dropped as Judy passed the immense plush over to Nick, complete delight in her eyes as she winked at the stall owner. "It's called a hustle, sweetheart. You should be familiar with that since you've been pulling one for the past  _ten years_." She placed heavy emphasis on the last few words as Nick's eyebrows raised at her statement.

With that, she leapt off the table, walking away from the stand, as she reached for Nick's paw with one paw, and the carrot with the other. Nick passed the carrot along while eagerly taking her paw in his, pulling her paw up to his lips and placing a quick kiss upon it, before turning to smirk at the stall owner who sat blubbering incoherently on his chair.

"Were we too harsh on him?" Nick asked, as soon as they were a comfortable distance away. Judy shook her head.

"Nah. Those jugs were filled with lead and he's been hustling rabbits for years with that game," Judy replied, remembering just how many Zoomoleans her siblings had lost to that particular stall owner over the years. "I think we're the first ones to win that I've heard of in the ten years he's been here. Popular opinion stated he glued them down, but considering the holes I saw below those pins, as well as the rusty metal filings I saw underneath them, he most likely nailed a few of them down."

Nick burst into laughter, nearly doubling over as the pair began heading for the stage where the blueberry eating contest would be held. He wiped at his eyes, still snickering as Judy cuddled against the massive carrot in her arm. "I should be paid for how well I've trained you in the art of hustling," the fox remarked.

"Would you accept payment in kisses?" Judy coyly replied with a jump to her step.

Nick simply grinned. "Why Carrots, that is the  _only_  payment I'd take for offering the services of such an excellent hustler as myself."

Judy halted, jumping in front of her fox with her plush carrot placed between them. "Then I think that I want to pay off a little of my debt now, and then the  _interest_  later."

The fox chuckled, shaking his head as he glanced at the animals around them. "For some reason, I think your parents are going to find out about us being a couple before we get to tell them ourselves."

"They'll find out either way," Judy grinned. "Now, about that payment, close your eyes."

Nick did as he was told, closing his eyes as a silly smirk crossed his lips.

Judy smiled, then inched closer to the fox, laughing as she quickly brought up her stuffed carrot and placed it against his awaiting lips.

Her laughter stopped when she heard a  _whizzing_  sound go straight between her ears, as well as a soft  _splat_  sound just above her head. She gazed upwards, her eyes widening in shock as the plush fell to the ground, a bright blue stain dripping down from the top of it.

"Aw Scat!"

Judy turned at hearing the curse, spotting what looked like a zebra about ten yards away placing something into a pocket of his coat. The two mammals made eye contact, causing the zebra to curse again, turn, then bolt away.

"Judy, what's going on?" Nick asked, opening his eyes, concerned when he saw the worried look in his partner's eyes and how her ears had fallen behind her head.

" _Night howlers..._ that zebra has _night howlers."_

Nick froze as he heard the hushed words Judy spoke before she had sprinted off down the pathway.

"Judy, what's going on!" Nick yelled, jogging, then sprinting, after her.

She turned back to look at him, "That zebra almost hit you with night howlers!"

Nick looked back at the plush toy laying on the ground behind him, recoiling at the sight of the blue splatter dripping down from the plush. He glanced at a nearby family of horses that were staring at him

" _Do not_  let anyone touch that!" He yelled frantically, sprinting off after Judy while pointing at the plushie. The horses nodded, staring at the odd scene of a fox chasing a rabbit. "And call the police!" he added as the youngest horse pulled his cell phone from his pocket and began dialing into his phone.

Thankfully for Nick and his years of living on the streets of Zootopia, he had managed to gain an excellent sense of direction, as well as a distinct ability of memorizing avenues and alleyways in case he ever needed to use them. After walking for several hours around the fairly small grounds the festival was hosted on, he had nearly all the pathways memorized.

He couldn't see  _who_  Judy was chasing, but as he watched Judy take a sharp left turn, he plowed ahead at full speed.

_That path should curve around and come back out right about…_

_There!_

Nick watched in satisfaction as a zebra burst around the corner only twenty feet ahead of him, the mammal's hooves digging into the dry dirt as he tried taking the turn too sharp, kicking up a cloud of dust. Judy hot on the zebra's tail as the rabbit nearly barreled into Nick as she turned the corner.

"What took you so long, Carrots?" Nick asked, amusement in his voice, though it wasn't showing on his face.

"Took the scenic route apparently," Judy growled, jumping to her right to avoid a pig laying on the ground that the zebra had just pushed out of his way.

"This is the guy we're chasing then?" Nick asked, earning a nod from Judy as the two dipped and dodged through the crowded fairgrounds, trying to keep the zebra in their line of sight. "Either this guy has no idea where the exit is, or he's hoping he can outlast us," Nick stated, grinning as he noticed they were gaining on the other mammal. "How naive of him."

The zebra turned his head, his eyes narrowing as he saw the fox and rabbit chasing him. His hoof slid into his coat pocket and both Judy's and Nick's eyes widened as he pulled a very familiar gun from it.

"Ah great," Nick grunted. He lunged at Judy, both of them tumbling to the ground as the zebra shot off another nighthowler pellet at them.

Judy turned to see where they had just been, gulping at the blue smear in the dirt. Both got to their feet and resumed the chase after Judy gave a warning to everyone not to touch the blue smear.

Now much further behind, the two had to rely upon the sudden shouts and cries of pain of mammals being pushed and shoved in the zebra's desperate attempt to flee.

"He's heading for the food court," Judy gasped, fear tugging at her heart. If he reached the food court, there was little chance they'd catch him.

"That will lead him straight out of the fairgrounds," Nick growled as he pushed himself to run even faster, suddenly thankful at the ice treatments that Bonnie had forced upon him.

They turned the corner that led straight into the picnic area and managed to catch a glimpse of the zebra as he tried darting in between tables and booths.

"Judy, go right, I'll take left."

The rabbit nodded as they split up, opting to run around the picnic area instead of through it.

* * *

_That stupid longears. She just had to go and do something stupid..._ the zebra thought as he knocked into a booth made for smaller mammals, just as a family of lemmings jumped away from it. Tripping over an overturned chair, he barely caught himself, but lost nearly all his forward speed as he took several steps forward on all four hooves before righting back to his hind legs.

_Boss is going to hate me for messing up again. Why is it so hard to just hit that idiot fox?…_

One last table was all that stood in his way as he saw the exit to the fairgrounds ahead of him. Daring to look behind him, he grinned as neither the rabbit or fox cops could be seen.

_Finally lost them_ …

He turned his head forward, his grin still in place, right as a pair of rabbit sized feet connected into the side of his head.

* * *

Judy smiled in satisfaction as she landed a perfect double kick to the zebra's cheek. Falling backwards, she spun once in the air, landing gracefully on her feet and a single paw, looking up to see her handiwork. The zebra flew several yards before smashing into the grass, rolling several times before managing to slide onto his knees. He glared up at Judy, wiping his mouth as he stood.

"You kick like a rabbit," he snorted, spitting in her direction.

"I'd call that a compliment," Nick shouted from several yards behind the zebra. The striped animal turned his head, his glare tightening at the fox standing quite non-chalantly only a little ways away. "From the looks of that kick, she was taking it easy on you. Isn't that right Carrots?"

Judy grinned, taking advantage of the zebra's inattentiveness to her to sneak forward several feet, before the zebra turned back to look at her.

"You have nowhere to run," Judy began, keeping her muscles tense. "The police will be here soon, so you might as well just lay down, and put your hooves behind your back."

"And if I don't?" the zebra sneered.

"Then we'll finally have an answer to the riddle of what is black and white, and red all over," Nick quipped, his tail swishing behind him as he noticed the zebra tense. "Your choice," the fox added with a shrug.

"Shut your trap, half-mutt!"

The zebra lunged at Nick, who, despite his rather casual stance, managed to deftly avoid the incoming hoof by falling forward and slightly to his right, kicking his leg out as he did. The fox's foot smashed into the zebra's shin, causing the larger mammal to stumble forward, his muzzle planting itself into the dirt for a second time.

"Don't get up now," Nick teased, though his ears remained flat as Judy ran to his side. "Just move your hooves behind your back and…"

The zebra had other ideas as his back hooves kicked out, nearly catching both Nick and Judy straight in their muzzles. The two stumbled backwards as the zebra stood, then turned and lunged at them again, his hooves flying towards both officers, hoping to catch them together in a wide haymaker.

The height difference was the only saving grace that saved the pair from a concussion, as the zebra's hoof narrowly missed them, flying straight over their heads, but clipping both their ears. Stumbling back saved them from the second punch which sliced the air where they had just stood.

Both rabbit and fox leapt in different directions as the third swing smashed into the ground between them.

"You're quick," the zebra growled as the two officers rolled to their feet on either side of their assailant.

"Good thing too," Judy scoffed, circling the zebra slowly as Nick did the same.

The sound of approaching sirens in the distance caught all their attention. Judy's ears turned in that direction as Nick smirked.

"What do you think, Carrots. Will they taze or tranq him? I'm preferring both at the moment." Nick remarked.

The statement earned a growl from the zebra. "Neither of em," he growled. "Boss is going to hate me anyways for all this and you two ain't worth my time."

The zebra darted towards a nearby food stand, with Judy right in his way. The rabbit dodged to her left as the zebra stomped right through the space she was just in, growling in annoyance as the zebra then changed direction towards Nick. The fox's grin fell as the mammal approached with Nick backing up as the zebra was nearing him at a sprint.

"Now, I know we don't get along, but that's no need for violence,  _OH MY!"_  Nick yelped as he jumped backwards and underneath a nearby picnic table, one which the zebra didn't see as his focus was completely on the fox. With said fox grinning, the zebra's head smashed directly into the wooden construct with a sickening thud.

"Looks like someone is a fan of rock music after that headbanging session," Nick laughed, turning to leave the relative protection the table had offered him.

The larger mammal stumbled once to his knees, rubbing his head with his hoof before Judy's feet again slammed into left cheek, knocking the hoofed mammal over once more.

Going into the dirt and grass for a third time, the zebra groaned as Judy offered her paw to Nick who was climbing out from under the table.

"I didn't figure you two would give me so much trouble," the zebra muttered, stumbling to his feet, blinking his eyes several times. Wiping his snout, and laughing as he saw a line of red on his hoof, he shook his head.

"What all in tarnation is going on around here, Miss Judy?"

"Gi...Gideon?" Judy whirled around to see the plump fox jogging towards them. Her eyes went wide. "Get out of here now!"

Nick sent a quick glare at the baker ambling towards them, before turning his attention back to their assailant.

His ears fell.

The zebra had his serum gun pointed directly at them.

" _JUDY DOWN!"_

Nick rammed the bunny directly in her chest, holding her close as he heard a  _pop_  accompanied by a speeding blue blur passing directly over his head. They hit the dirt, Judy groaning as Nick turned to see the zebra's eyes go wide. The mammal mumbled a quick curse word, dropping his gun and taking several steps back before bolting behind a nearby stall and out of view.

The fox was about to give chase, when he heard a series of snarls and snorts behind him.

" _Oh no,_ " he heard Judy whisper as a feral roar split the air.

" _Savage! There's a savage fox in the food court!"_ someone yelled a sudden silence filling the eating area.

Nick's head slowly turned towards where the baker had been standing, only to see him on all four paws, a blue stain splattered against his right cheek. His eyes locked onto them.

"Not again," Nick muttered, quickly grabbing Judy's paw and running away from the picnic area as the now savage fox gave chase.

Gideon snarled as he darted after them, with mammals jumping out of the way, over tables and behind stalls and stands as the savage fox raced after the two mammals it was focused on. Screaming mammals fled in all direction, knocking over chairs and tables in their mad dash to escape. A crying baby bunny sat abandoned next to a nearby table, being scooped up by a passing deer as Nick and Judy raced past.

"So, this seems oddly familiar," Nick shouted, chancing a look behind him, gulping as he noticed Gideon, with all his heft and weight, gaining on them. "Have any plans, Carrots?" he asked as Judy yelled for the mammals in front of them to flee.

"Maybe?" she replied tentatively, watching as nearly everyone ahead of them heeded her call of alarm. "Think you can distract him for a bit?"

"It will cost you a few extra kisses," Nick responded. Judy smirked, then as they ran past another stall, the rabbit made a quick jump to her left, disappearing behind a stall wall. "Bring him back to the picnic area!" he heard Judy yell as she scampered away.

"Easier said than done," Nick groaned, skidding to a stop along the path, then flattening to the ground as Gideon leapt above him, the savage fox's claws barely missing him before Nick pushed himself off the ground and bolted back the way he came. Gideon skidded in the dirt, his eyes flashing rage as a low rumbling snarl left his throat before he gave chase after Nick again.

"Get out of the way!" Nick yelled, waving his arms madly at the few remaining mammals standing in the main pathway before him. The last few animals scattered as the two foxes ran past.

_Judy, I hope you know what you're doing_ …

Nick charged ahead, the picnic area thirty yards ahead when he saw Judy's head poke up from above a stall at the end of the path, a large roll of fabric in her paws. "Jump when I tell you too!" she yelled, with Nick giving her a quick nod as he picked up speed, again thankful that Bonny had forced him to use her ice pack remedy.

With Gideon gaining on him, Nick put on a final burst of speed as Judy finished tying one side of the fabric she held to a pole of a nearby stand. Judy sprinted across the pathway, trailing the heavy fabric behind her with it laying flat on the ground.

Their eyes met, and the command was yelled.

" _JUMP!"_

* * *

"So, Bonnie, how have we been doing today?" Stu asked, walking up behind his wife, rubbing her shoulders in an affectionate manner.

The other rabbit hmm'ed contentedly. "Better than last year it seems. I think the pictures of Judy are bringing in more folks though." She waved a few of the newspaper clippings and photos of their daughter scattered around their stand, which was situated more towards the entrance of the carnival grounds.

"I wonder how they're doing," Bonnie mumbled, watching as one of her other sons began serving a customer who came up to their stall.

"Oh, you mean Jude and Nick?" Stu asked. Bonnie nodded. "Oh, I bet they're fine," he laughed, waving his paw.

" _Savage! There's a savage fox in the food court!"_

The yell broke forth, followed soon by screams and panicked shouts. Within a few seconds, a horde of mammals was spotted running towards the entrance of the grounds, followed shortly by the wail of police sirens appearing outside.

"What's going on?" Stu yelled at the fleeing mammals, grateful when a pig finally stopped at their stand, panting frantically. "What's going on?"

"Fox...savage," the pig gasped, pointing in the direction of the food court. "Chasing a rabbit." The pig, a frantic look in his eyes, stumbled, pushed from behind by a family of goats trying to flee.

The festival had devolved into chaos, yet when Bonnie and Stu looked at one another, only one thought passed through their minds.

"Judy…"

* * *

Nick did as he was told, jumping just as Judy pulled the fabric up behind him. The snarling fox behind Nick couldn't stop in time, running straight into the cloth, the force of his charge yanking Judy off her feet as the savage tangled himself in the fabric. Judy rolled to her feet as Nick ran to her side, both now staring at the pile of moving cloth.

"Are you good at tying knots?" Nick quipped as they ran towards the tangled mess of cloth and fur.

She didn't have time to respond as a tearing sound reached their ears. Skidding to a stop only a few feet away from the moving tangle, several claws tore through the fabric, with the snarls underneath becoming more pronounced. With a large ripping sound, Gideon's claws tore a larger hole through the material, allowing enough room for the snarling mammal to jump through, albeit clumsily, landing directly on Nick.

"A little help here!" Nick yelped, grabbing at Gideon's paw that swiped at his neck, while trying to push the snarling mammals head away with his other paw. A sudden yelp, and the weight was lifted off his body as Judy sent a kick directly into Gideon's side. Growling in pain, Gideon snapped his jaws, turning onto his feet as he focused on the rabbit standing before him.

_I want you to remember this moment when you thought you could be anything more, than a stupid, carrot farming dumb bunny._

The words reverberated through Judy's mind from 15 years previous as she stared down the savage fox before her.

_No, not a savage..._ Judy thought, backing up and to the side, leading Gideon's attention away from Nick was was struggling to his feet. She took several steps backwards, only for Gideon to charge.  _He's not a savage at heart. It's just the serum making him this way._ Turning on her heels, she fled, hearing the soft thumps of paws chasing her down.  _Don't hurt him, he's not like the old Gideon...he's changed._

The picnic area didn't provide much room for movement and trying to focus on both paying attention to where she was running, as well as making sure Gideon was following her, caused her to miss an exposed root of the elm tree she and Nick had eaten under earlier. Judy tumbled forward, scrambling onto her feet, only to hear a snarl behind her. Her eyes went wide as she tried to turn, only to grunt in pain as the back of Gideon's paw smacked into her, knocking her towards the baker's own pie stall.

She rolled to a stop, flipping onto her back as she saw the fox stalking towards her. Backing up, she suddenly found her back pressed against the wood of Gideon's stall.

* * *

Bonnie and Stu were frightened as they pushed their way through the panicked crowd of mammals, trying to make their way to the now nearly emptied eating area.

"Grandpa, Grandma, what are you doing?"

Bonnie looked behind her, startled when she saw little July running after her, tears in the young doe's eyes.

" _July_ , what are you doing!" Bonnie cried, stopping only momentarily so that her granddaughter could catch up to her. "Go back to your father at the stand.

July shook her head. "I want to help Aunt Judy."

Bonnie cast a quick look at Stu, who shook his head before darting forward again, the patriarch of the Hopps' home making much better progress as the crowds thinned.

The three rabbits ran forward, turning around a final stall, their full horror realized as they saw Judy pressed against the back of a food stall, with Gideon Grey, leaping towards her.

" _No…_ " Bonnie yelled as July rounded the corner.

July turned the corner, her ears falling flat behind her.

" _JUUUUUUDDDDDDY!"_

* * *

For the second time, she found herself staring into the angry eyes of Gideon Grey stalking towards her. Nose twitching, Judy's eyes went wide as she looked for an escape. Nick was running towards her, but seemed too far away to help.

_Look at her nose twitch...she is scared._

Those words, seemed so appropriate for the second time in her life.

She  _was_  scared as the fox scraped a paw at the dirt, preparing to lunge.

Gideon's eyes narrowed, and he let loose a feral growl as he leapt towards Judy, one of his paws hanging above him in the air.

Judy was transfixed at the sight, her memories of so long ago freezing her in place, despite all her police training. She could have rolled to either side. Judy could have rolled forward under the charging fox's claws.

She could have done  _anything,_ but she couldn't take her eyes away from the sight of Gideon rearing up in front of her, preparing to deliver what looked like a lethal blow.

She didn't register the fear mixed with angry determination in Nick's eyes as he ran towards her.

She didn't notice the look of horror in her parents eyes, or how Stu's knees nearly gave out at the sight of the feral fox standing above his daughter.

Judy didn't even hear little July screaming her name.

All she saw was Gideon's paw being raised, his claws shining in the sun.

Judy raised her own paw, hoping it could deflect the oncoming blow, closing her eyes and hoping that she'd be able to survive what she knew was coming. She braced for the pain she hoped wouldn't come, as the world seemed to slow. Gideon's claws seemed to float in the air.

Everything went still and quiet, as if the world was holding its breath...

...just as Gideon's claws swiftly descended towards her throat.

 


	26. Coping

Nick barely even noticed when the paramedic, a sympathetic looking doe, wrapped the blanket around his shoulders. Nor to the fact that the coffee he held in his paw was now beyond tepid. Even the flashing blue and red lights around him, blinking against the starry sky. The only thing he could really pay attention to was that he was sitting on the edge of the ambulance...alone.

"Seems like we've been here a lot, eh Carrots?" He tried to laugh, but the sound became caught in his throat as he stared at the styrofoam cup beside him, his own still sitting in his paw.

When a fellow officer had stopped by, offering the coffee, he’d taken two out of habit...

"We made a great team today, Carrots," Nick mumbled at the cup next to him, sighing as he rotated the coffee cup. His brooding halted as he noticed the red stains still covering his paws.

Just like that, he felt the crushing weight of what had happened a few hours earlier roll over him in a wave. His paw tenderly traced down the sets of parallel scars now gracing his left cheek.

"We have matching scars now, Carrots," Nick chuckled sadly. He looked up, glancing around him, and it was at that point he noticed a gurney, covered in a white cloth, being rolled into a nearby ambulance.

The dam holding back his emotions broke, wreaking havoc on his body as he convulsively shuddered, tears flowing down his cheeks.

"I'm sorry Carrots," he choked out, sobbing into his paws, catching several sorrowful looks from a few officers walking past him. "I'm so sorry it had to end this way."

* * *

**_A few hours earlier..._ **

Nick ran as fast and as hard as he could as Gideon inched his way towards his partner, who was cornered against a stall.

 _Have to get to her!_ Nick thought, urging his legs to go faster. Nick saw the savage fox, previously known as Gideon Grey, raise his paw up, claws shining in the sun, readying a killing blow against Judy, his partner and the love of his life. Instincts took over as adrenaline kicked in, pushing him faster and faster towards his love.

_Come on, come on, come on…!_

He didn't hear the feral scream that came from his own throat as he rammed into the side of Gideon Grey at full force, just as the other fox’s claws were a whisker's breadth away from ripping through Judy Hopps's throat.

The two foxes tumbled to the ground, Gideon yipping in pain as Nick rolled  into a kneeling position, quickly looking at Judy to make sure she was ok. His partner was breathing hard, but was staring at him gratefully, giving him a quick nod to show she was ok. Nick allowed himself to breathe again, pulling himself to his feet. It was only when he stood that he felt the sharp pain in his left cheek. Dabbing at the spot, he yelped, seeing crimson staining his paw. Nick stared at it, breathing heavily, yelling behind him at Judy.

Judy, are you alright?" Nick yelled, not taking his eyes off of the feral fox before him, which was now circling the pair, snarling viciously.

"I am now," Judy stated, as Nick felt a gentle pressure leaning against his side. "Are you ok?" Her eyes went wide as she reached out to touch his cheek. " _Nick_..."

"Not now," Nick grunted, chancing a quick look at Judy, her paw stalling halfway from his bloody cheek. "Any ideas on what to do now?"

Judy shook her head. The two took a step back as Gideon leapt forward, only for the savage animal to take a few steps backwards as Nick growled, raising his arms above his head to deter the attack.

“That’s not normal,” Judy murmured quietly, wondering why Gideon had halted his attack. She didn’t remember either Manchas or Shepherd actually... _thinking._

The idea sparked new worries in Judy’s mind. This wasn’t any ordinary serum that Gideon was hit with. The savage fox still had some semblance of thought, even in his current state. That, combined with natural hunting instincts long ago abandoned meant only one thing...

They were in deep trouble...

Her thoughts were quickly abandoned as Nick prodded her with his paw.

"Carrots, I have an idea, but I'm fairly certain you won't like it."

"I'm sure right now I wouldn't mind _any_ idea," she replied as Gideon snapped his jaws at the pair of mammals while still circling them.

"No, I'm 100% sure you're going to hate this," Nick retorted, his eyes betraying the nervousness he was feeling. "But it looks like we might not have much of a choice soon, Fluff."

"So what is this oh-so-terrible plan of yours?" Judy questioned, her hesitancy suddenly betrayed in the tone of her voice.

She looked up at Nick, only to jump slightly as Gideon snarled loudly, taking a step forward towards them. Her paw went over her nose, desperate to stop it from twitching as Nick’s paw was placed in front of her, shielding her somewhat from the crazed mammal. The rabbit could sense the sudden coldness coming from her partner, and looked up again to see him staring down at her, his eyes filled with sorrow.

"Do you think Gideon has any knives in the stand behind us?"

Judy's ears dropped, as the horror of Nick's statement took a moment to register what he said.

"No, no, no, no, _no!"_ She stammered, taking a step away from Nick, forgetting about the savage fox just a hop, skip and a jump away. “We can’t... _kill_ him. We can’t kill _Gideon_.”

Nick took the opportunity to look at Judy, his eyes filled with sorrow. “We may not have a choice.”

As the two officers exchanged looks, the snarling canine saw the opening he'd been waiting for and charged.

Gideon pounced upon Nick, his paws slashing at the other red fox as Nick tried frantically to push him off.

“A little help, Carrots!” he yelled, managing to grab a hold of one of Gideon’s paws, while his other paw shot to Gideon’s throat to keep the enraged mammals’ snapping jaws away from his own neck. Gideon’s free paw slashed down Nick’s front, reducing his tie to mere shreds of its former self.

_WaThunk_

With a loud yelp, Gideon flew off of Nick, crashing to the ground a few feet away, pawing at his face in pain. Panting heavily, Nick pushed himself up onto his elbows, finally noticing Judy standing next to him, wielding a large, metal _‘line forms here’_ sign like a sword, the bottom still caked with dirt from where she yanked it out of the ground.

“Are you alright?” she asked, panting heavily herself as she struggled against the weight of the post and sign. Nick swallowed, wincing slightly as three trickles of crimson dotted the front of his shirt. He saw the state of his tie and frowned, “This was my favorite tie, too.”

“I hated it,” Judy replied with a coy smile, her attention suddenly shifting back onto Gideon quickly as the savage fox was again on his paws, prowling around them. She heard Nick begin to laugh, “Oh thank Marion!” he exclaimed.

“What?”

“Looks like reinforcements have arrived,” the fox stated, noticing several of Bunnyburrow’s finest entering into the food court area. “Finally you guys got here!” Nick yelled, not taking his eyes off the savage before him. “Have any tranquilizers on you?”

A large stag that stood at the head of the group pulled a tranquilizer gun from his hip pouch. “We’ll need to get closer. Think you can distract him for a bit more?” The stag jumped as the feral fox let out a particularly vicious sounding snarl.

Judy rolled her eyes, muttering, “Like we _haven’t_ been doing that already.”

Gideon snarled and pounced forward. Judy swung her sign, causing the savage fox to dart back again, his tail waving back and forth behind him.

Another leap, another swing, though much slower as Judy’s panting grew heavily. “This things getting heavy, you want to swing for a bit Nick?”

He reached out for the sign, only for Gideon to pounce forward again. Judy swung, yet the savage seemed to have learned from his previous advances and instead of darting back, clamped his teeth around the pole attached to the sign, shaking it back and forth.

Judy was yanked off the ground by the force of the movement, yet she refused to let go of the sign, the only seeming defense they had against him at that moment. Gideon had clamped down on the pipe right between her paws, causing her to look straight into the snarling mouth of the savage fox as he whipped her and the sign back and forth.

Nick leapt into action, pounding onto the back of the feral animal, slamming his fists into its’ back at full force. Yet Gideon persisted in whipping the pole back and forth with even more vigor than before, causing the sign portion of it to smack straight into Nick’s chest, knocking him to the ground with a loud groan.

He looked up to see that Judy had completely left the ground at this point, hanging onto the sign for dear life. Nick could see her paws slipping on the metal, the rabbit straining to hold on.

Her partner saw what was coming, and both Nick’s and Judy’s eyes widened in fear as they watched her paws losing their grasp upon the sign. With a final, savage shake from Gideon, she lost her grip entirely.

Judy flew backwards through the air for several terrifyingly long seconds, flying head over heels, before finally smashing into a wooden table used to house condiments for a nearby bugga burger. She hit the stand with such force that it toppled over, the wood splintering and cracking under the impact. A whimper of pain rent the air, a look of shock and fear filling her amethyst eyes...

...before they slowly fluttered closed, her head lolling forward as her body slumped against the demolished table, a slight trickle of red dripping from her lips.

“No…” Nick mumbled, barely noticing the savage fox dropping the sign and stalking towards the fallen bunny. “No...no, no, no, no, _NO!_ ”

His body reacted before he even thought, rage blinding him from reason’s reach as he stumbled forward, grabbing the metal sign and approaching the savage animal from behind. He didn’t care that several officers were standing nearby, nor that they each now had a clear shot of the savage mammal.

Nick only saw blood, Judy’s limp form, and the fox that had caused it.

He raised the sign high above his head, and as Gideon’s ears perked towards him, the savage turning to snarl at him, he brought it down with full force upon the feral beast.

_Wa-omph_

The savage yelped as he went down, Nick brought the sign up again.

_Wa-omph_

Through his tears and anger, Nick couldn’t see the officers racing towards him.

_Wa-omph_

Gideon whimpered in pain, lying on the ground, his ears cocked back and a frightened expression in his eyes.

_Wa-crack_

Again he raised the sign, the film crews setting up their cameras going unnoticed.

_Wa-crunch_

Nick raised the sign once more above his head, gasping for breath and choking back sobs as he willed himself to strike again, the mangled form of Gideon laying still below him. His vision blurred, the sign dropping behind him as several frantic paws pulled him away from the now bloody animal before him. Yanking himself out of the grasp of the officers trying to restrain him, he darted in the only direction that mattered...towards Judy.

He skidded to a stop on his knees next to her.

_Oh no...oh please no. Judy…_

She lay there in the dirt and grass, her fragile looking body unnervingly still. Haltingly, he placed his paw around her back, lifting her tenderly from the rubble of the table she had flown into. Her body was coated in red, little rivulets of it dripping down her arms as the smell of her blood assaulted his nose. Gazing down at the love of his life, he willed Judy to move, to speak, to do _anything_.

“Please don’t do this to me Judy,” Nick whimpered, brushing his paw over her ears while lifting her head slightly, hoping the movement would cause her to suddenly awake, shouting _“Fooled you”,_ or anything as long as she was alive to say it.

Her head lolled back in his paws as her arms fell to her sides, the tiny drops of red dripping from her paw and lips to the stained ground below. Her ears flopped limply back down behind her.

_No...no...you can’t do this to me...no…_

“ _Judy…_ ”

Nick wept as her name rolled off his tongue.

She was gone...

Judy...was _dead._

He wept as part of his soul had been torn from him, violently and horrifically.

His tears flowed freely as he brought Judy’s body close into his chest, sobbing uncontrollably into her limp form. He hugged her close, and with it came all the memories of their previous embraces. Each one had been a new step in their relationship, from that first time under a bridge after a season apart, till this moment...their final embrace.

“Why…” Nick kept repeating over and over, cradling her prone form near his racing heart. “Why…”

In the midst of his tears, a low, unsettling, mournful howl escaped his lips, causing all those around to turn to the sight of a fox grieving for a rabbit. The howl was short, broken by his near constant sobs that wracked his frame.

The fox rocked back and forth, unaware of the sirens now filling the area, the paramedics rushing to the battered and bloodied Gideon, or of Judy’s parents walking slowly towards him, little July hugging onto Bonnie’s waist as her large blue eyes filled with tears. None of it mattered to him. His world was the rabbit he was cradling in his arms.

And now that world was shattered.

“Grandma…” July stuttered, tears trickling down her cheeks as her paws clutched at Bonnie’s skirt. “Is Auntie Judy…”

Bonnie placed her paw over July’s mouth, not wanting to hear the word she knew was about to come from her grandchild’s lips. She was still hopeful, as any mother would be. Hoping that what she saw wasn’t real.

Nick’s body was nearly parallel with the ground as he wept, his frame trembling from the ferocity of his sorrow.. “I’m sorry...Judy. _I’m so...sorry_ …” All those in the vicinity stopped and gazed at the show of emotion the fox had for his partner. Several of the nearby police officers removed their hats, lowering their eyes at the tenderness displayed.

It was an imperceptible movement at first. Just as the changing of the seasons comes slowly, but with the passing of days, it becomes all the more noticeable. The fox didn’t notice the first few motions through his grief, yet as the seconds passed, they multiplied and grew stronger.

The faint _twitching_ of a paw.

An eyelid _fluttering_ slightly.

…a low _groan_.

Nick’s eyes flashed open at the quiet sound, his sobs continuing for several moments as he looked down with reddened eyes at Judy’s form in his paws

Her _previously_ limp form squirming in his grasp.

“Ju...Judy?” The words were harsh, his voice strained, yet anyone around could see the hope which lingered in it.

Another groan, as Judy’s formally limp paw wiped at her face, her eyes slowly opening.

“Ugh…” the rabbit groaned, staring at her red stained paw. “Why do I taste _ketchup_?”

Nick did a terrible job of stifling his new sobs mixed with exultant laughter as the rabbit in his arms stared up at him in wonder and confusion. Words couldn’t contain his joy in that moment as Judy groggily looked up at him, a perplexed expression on her face.

“Why does my head hurt so much?” she asked, puzzled at the odd look Nick was giving her. “And why are you looking at me like that?”

“Oh Judy,” Nick whimpered, brushing his paw over her ears while finally managing to hold back his tears. “My brave, dumb, sly, bunny.”

She looked at him quizzically before his lips smashed into hers, his emotions poured into the kiss. The move startled Judy at first, the rabbit tensing before she relaxed into the kiss. Nick pulled away, only to plunge his lips against hers again and again, Judy began reciprocated the gestures just as firmly as her paws wrapped their way around his neck.

The overwhelming dark, cold, clouds of despair that had hung over them had dissipated in the brilliant heat of their love. Both clutched each other closer as they kissed, tears staining Nick’s fur, trickling down onto Judy’s cheeks and intermingling with her own, washing away the red stains across her body.

The lost had been found, with both rejoicing equally.

Together, the fox and the rabbit were in their own realm of love and emotion, completely unaware of the wide eyed stares coming from several of the officers nearby, or of the camera’s that were filling the air with clicks and flashes. And they _definitely_ did not notice the looks of shock from Judy’s parents, Bonnie’s paw going to cover her mouth, or of Stu’s wide eyes at the passionate display before two older rabbits.

“ _Oh peas and carrots,_ ” Stu mumbled, his eyes rolling to the back of his head before falling over backwards, starling poor little July who didn’t know if she was supposed to be smiling like her aunt Judy, or be wide eyed and shocked like her grand-parents.

“Grandma...will Grandpa be alright?” July asked, looking at Stu who was passed out in the grass. Bonnie turned to her husband, nodding _very_ slowly, before her eyes revolved back to Judy and her partner at a simple sentence that came from a _very_ innocent July.

“Grandma, why are they kissing like that?”

“Oh sweet heavens…” Bonnie whispered.

 

* * *

**_The present…_ **

Nick sobbed into his paws. The realization of what he had done to Gideon rained a hellish nightmare of guilt upon him. One or two blows he could have justified to knock out the savage, or at least prevent him from attacking Judy.

But not what he had done.

He hadn’t even known what had been going on around him, his tunnel vision so focused on revenge against the savage mammal for what he had done against Judy, that everything else was tuned out.

_Had the officers had a clear shot?_

_Could he have simply distracted Gideon?_

So many questions flooded his mind as he wept, that he barely even felt the soft paw upon his shoulder.

“Nick, are you alright?”

Judy’s tender voice floated into her ears, his paw reaching up to clasp over her own as she sat down next to Nick, her eyes filled with worry.

“I...killed him.” Nick finally managed. “I killed Gideon, just because I thought he killed…”

“No,” Judy whispered, wrapping her paw around Nick’s waist as she leaned against him. “Don’t say that. You couldn’t have known.”

It was true. After just checking in with the medics at the scene, then finishing up with an even more thorough examine in the ambulance just now, she was suffering from a light concussion which had resulted from her head greeting the table at full force.

“It’s alright, Nick. Everything will be alright. Gideon isn’t..”

“How can you say that?” Nick asked, looking down at his paws, which were covered with dried blood. “He’s gone. I’ve killed him!” His voice raised as he shot a paw towards the red soaked blanket being loaded into the ambulance across from him.

“Nick,” Judy growled, her voice much lower now as her frown deepened. “You did _not_ kill Gideon.”

“But I did!” Nick yelled, startling the two medics inside the ambulance. “He’s _dead_ because of me. I can’t bring him back and now I doubt that Bogo will allow us to even stay as partners, with me being a murdere-”

A loud smacking sound accompanied by a feeling of intense pain filled Nick’s mind. His eyes went wide as the impact of Judy’s open palm-slap to his cheek shocked him out of his guilt-stained monologue. Judy stood, one paw placed against her hip while the other was left pointing at him, mere inches from his muzzle.

“Now you _listen here_ , _Nick_ ,” Judy growled, before pointing towards the other ambulance. “Would a dead mammal be hooked up to an IV? Or have medics _treating_ him?” Her glare hardened as her finger came back to point at Nick, the fox’s gaze following it like a fish would a lure.

“Would a dead savage mammal have _restraints_ on?”

Nick gulped, sparing a glance at the cloth covered stretcher again, this time noticing everything that Judy had pointed out; the IV bag being held by a jaguar, the hare that was frantically working at cleaning a wound on the fox’s head, the pawcuffs that were attached to Gideon’s arms and legs, and finally…

...the muzzle, which was situated over his mouth. Nick grimaced, wincing at the sight of the detested device, lowering his head as he looked at his paws in his lap.

“You _did not_ kill Gideon,” Judy repeated harshly, placing her paws against her hips. “So get it out of your thick, dumb fox mind that you did.”

Nick opened his mouth to reply, but instead sighed heavily, his ears falling further behind his head as he refocused on his feet dangling over the edge of the ambulance. Only after several moments of silence, punctuated by the sound of the other ambulance’s doors closing, its siren announcing its departure, did Nick speak.

“I’m sorry.”

Two little words, spoken with such emotion, and pleading so much for forgiveness, that nothing else needed to be said by the fox. Judy understood from his words and the sincerity in his eyes, that he no longer blamed himself for what happened to Gideon.

Nick still felt absolutely sickened by what had happened...what _he_ had done to Gideon. At the moment, he felt only the bitter relief that the other fox hadn’t died at his paws and that he had been able to save his beloved rabbit as well. His paw went up to the bandages over what would become three parallel scars across his cheek.

 _It’s worth it_...he thought, letting his paw trace the gashes across his cheek under the wrap. _She’s worth it._

Judy smiled softly, watching her partner  stroking her paw across his cheek, before she reached up, cupping his chin in her paw and turning his head to face her own. She admired the ways his jade colored eyes were glimmering in the moonlight, the way the gentle breeze lightly played with his fur. She frowned, however, looking at the bandage on his cheek.

He had that, because of her.

She had frozen at the sight of Gideon rearing up in front of her, claws out to attack her, for the second time in her life. She hadn’t frozen when confronting Manchas, Bellwether, Shepherd, Sprintz, or any of the dozens upon dozens of criminals they had faced together. Only when confronting a savage Gideon did she flinch.

And it had nearly cost her life, and had given the love of her life three reminders of her cowardice.

“Just don’t do that again, you dumb fox,” Judy stated softly, leaning up as she placed a light kiss upon his lips. Their eyes met, and for a fraction of a moment she felt the warmth and love in his as he reached for her other paw, holding it gently in his own.

But her gaze travelled back to those three lines of crimson staining the white bandage, and instantly, the warmth was gone, displaced by a feeling of her inadequacy when he needed her to be strong.

She lowered her gaze quickly, instead focusing on his paw gently rubbing her own. “I don’t want to make it a habit of smacking your cheek like that,” she stated softly, ears wilting behind her head. Feeling tears begin to form, she wiped her arm across her face, coughing to cover the motion so Nick wouldn’t notice, knowing he would ask her about it. With how traumatic the day was, she knew that her partner’s emotional bucket was already overflowing and she didn’t need to add her own well of troubles into his. She needed to be strong, so that she could help him to cope with what had happened.

Her own worries could come later.  

 

* * *

Nick knew what Judy was doing. As soon as her gaze dropped from his, he knew that his bunny, the one who had more empathy than was good for any mammal to have, was going to start blaming herself for what happened. Too many other mammals were around them for him to bring the subject up now, but Nick felt that he couldn’t let her hold onto that pain for too long. With the discussion they needed to have out of the question, his normal charms would have to do.

“We match now,” Nick stated, momentarily puzzling the rabbit until he repeated the phrase while pointing at the bandage on his left cheek. “Oww!”

“Jerk,” Judy mumbled, shaking her paw after punching Nick’s side with it, though both mammals started to laugh, the stress of the day wearing at them. The doe sat down next to her fox, her head leaning against his side as they sat in relative quiet, even the medics behind them opting to use the door into the front area of the vehicle to leave, rather than disturb the two officers.

“We’re going to have so much paperwork for this,” Nick finally stated, voice flat. His paw had found hers sometime during the past few minutes, and he was tenderly rubbing it with his thumb. “Think we can pawn it off on the local guys?”

“You would try that, wouldn’t you, Slick?” Judy replied, her wry smile letting Nick know she wasn’t opposed to the idea at all. “Did you hear anything more about the zebra?” Judy replied, seeming to go into _Judy-on-duty_ mode, a sign to Nick that perhaps her concussion wasn’t as bad as he thought it was.

Nick shook his head. “No, it seems like he just...disappeared after he shot Gideon with that weird new  night howler strand.”

Judy’s brow arched as she sat next time to him.

“Oh, sorry Fluff,” Nick replied sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. “You were getting checked out for your concussion when that mule deer officer…”

“Officer Buckson?” Judy inserted.

Nick nodded hesitantly, his tail twitching slightly, “I think so...He was asking me about what happened, though, to be honest, I was a bit curt with him for…” Nick sighed, glancing in the direction Gideon’s ambulance had taken, “obvious reasons.” Nick paused to think momentarily, his tail still swishing slowly back and forth behind him. “Though I did mention to him that I didn’t think Gideon was hit with the regular serum.”

Slowly, Judy nodded. “I had that feeling as well as he circled us. Neither Manchas nor Shepherd did that; they simply attacked without thought or...reason.”

Judy trailed off as Nick watched her, knowing that her mind had latched onto something. He stayed silent, not wanting to somehow derail her train of thought as the rabbit put her paw to her chin.

“We saw some of the same sort of behavior with Sprintz back at Furzer, where he was acting more instinctual than crazy like my uncle had after eating a nighthowler. If Gideon could act with some semblance of reason in his attacks,” she paused, her amethyst eyes lighting up while her ears returned to their erect position. “It means he was operating under some sort of-”

“Rational thought,” Nick chimed in as Judy said the same thing. They grinned at each other like two kits.

“You know this only means one thing, Carrots?” Nick enjoined, tapping his claws against the floor of the ambulance.

“That zebra is the same one who must have marked those carrots back at Furzer when we visited there,” Judy finished for him. “As well as the one who was at the impound lot that destroyed our evidence.”

“We finally have our suspect,” Nick exclaimed. “Now we only have to narrow it down to one out of thousands of male zebra’s in the city.”

Judy smiled. “There might be a way to do that, Slick.”

Nick half laughed, half snorted as he cast a sly smile at her. “I’m not so sure walking up to each and every zebra in Zootopia and asking them if they attacked us would be a smart idea Carrots.”

Judy lightly pushed him. “Not that,” she drawled, shaking her head before returning his coy gaze. “Do you remember anything during the study sessions at the academy about how to identify certain animals, in this case, _zebras_?”

Nick laughed nervously. “I may or may not have chosen to read that specific section after I found out it wasn’t on the exam.”

“You what?!” Judy exclaimed, eyes widening.

Her anger faltered when his smirk returned. “You bunnies, always so angry all the time.” He laughed as she started to stutter, frustration growing in her eyes. “Relax, Carrots. I read that section on how each one has different striping patterns, and that there is a database of them in the ZPD’s archives.”

Judy shook her head. “Jerk.”

“You know you love me,” he replied instantly, leaning his muzzle into her neck, giving her a quick kiss. Judy pushed his muzzle away to the fox’s laughter.

“Alright then Slick, since you stated the idea, you get to tell that to Bogo.”

“Tell Bogo what, exactly?” a slightly gruff voice replied to their left side and a few yards away.

The two officers turned to see two larger mammals walking towards them, who they both instantly  recognized as detectives Fangmeyer and Delgato.

“What are you two doing here?” Judy asked, then clamped her paws over her mouth in embarrassment while Nick attempted to hide the smirk forming on his lips.

“Nice to see you too, Hippety Hopps,” Fangmeyer growled, though in a friendly way as he flashed a toothy grin at the fox next to the rabbit.  

“Sorry guys, it’s been a _long_ day, so excuse officer paw-in-mouth here,” Nick jabbed in Judy’s direction. The rabbit shot him a quick glare.

“Understandable,” Delgato replied, reaching the ambulance, as a mischievous smile arched across  his lips. “How are you two lovebirds holding up?”

Nick and Judy were in absolute shock, their jaws going slack and ears falling behind them.

“Wha…”

“Oh come on, Nick. Rabbit got your tongue?” Fangmeyer chuckled, watching as one of Nick’s eyes twitched, his mouth still hanging open.

“How do you…” Judy began.

“Know?” Delgato grinned, continued her sentence for her as he folded his arms across his chest. “In how busy the two of you were lip-locking each other, you failed to notice the cameras catching it all on film. I have to say, a few of the officers were taking notes from you two.”

“ _Oh no_ …” Judy groaned, grabbing her ears and pulling them in front of her face as the skin under her fur began turning bright pink. _“Sweet buttery cheese and crackers on a platter with biscuits!_ ”

“Oh _yes,_ ” Fangmeyer chuckled. “And was that supposed to be you cussing, Hopps? That was absolutely the most cutes-”

“As much as this is interesting,” Nick interrupted, saving Delgato from an even more unsavory glare his rabbit partner was sending the wolf. “Why are you two here? And also, we have a severely injured mammal heading to the hospital as we speak, so if you two chuckle-heads will please can the gossip for a moment, there is actual police work to attend to.”

Fangmeyer and Delgato stiffened, the tiger coughing into his paw as his face took on a more professional tone.

“Sorry Wilde, Hopps,” the tiger muttered, looking somewhat flustered. “We got the call from the Bunnyburrow Police Department about a potential savage mammal attacking fairgoers. Bogo called us off a patrol and sent us here immediately to check on you two.”

“Chief figured that you’d somehow be involved,” Fangmeyer added. “Since you two always seem to be at the center of any trouble.”

“Of course,” Judy grumbled, before hopping off the lip of the ambulance. “So, when do we leave back for Zootopia, as I’m sure Chief would want to be debriefed in…”

“Hold up there,” Delgato stated flatly, waving his paws at the rabbit. “I figured you two would probably need some time just to rest and collect your thoughts before we begin any official investigation or even head back into Zootopia. As such, I already told the Chief that we could head back in the morning after we ,” he pointed at Fangmeyer, “examine the crime scene. So for now, you two just head back to wherever it is you’re staying, and we’ll drop in a bit after we’re done here and call Bogo on everything we find..”

“Please, tell Chief Bogo thank you for us, and that we appreciate his kindness,” Nick stated sincerely, sliding off the ambulance before wrapping an arm around his partner. The fox led the rabbit away from the two - now stunned - mammals behind him.

Delgato turned to his partner. “Did Wilde actually say something _nice_ about the Chief for once?”

The wolf blinked. “I...I think he did. That’s about as rare as a Bigpaw sighting,” Fangmeyer stated bluntly, causing the tiger to give him a confused look.

“You believe in that garbage?”Delgato stated, turning as he began walking towards the fairgrounds, Fangmeyer trotting up behind him.

“You don’t?” the wolf exclaimed, thus beginning a loud and heated argument between the two as they went to process the crime scene.

 

* * *

“So Carrots, how are we getting home, seeing as your mom and dad took the Kerfluffanator home.”

Judy looked around the parking lot, sighing as she clasped her arms around her, the heat of the day quickly replaced by an cold autumn breeze. All she saw were patrol cars, as well as the several officers who were maintaining a perimeter around the fairgrounds, keeping all the news-mammals and onlookers a safe distance away.  “I can see if one of my siblings can give us a ride,” she stated, shivering slightly.

With how close they were standing, Nick felt Judy shiver against him. Instinctively he quickly wrapped his arm around her side, while pulling his partner closer to him.

“Frozen carrots were never my thing,” Nick drawled, looking down at the smile Judy was giving him.

Judy’s phone buzzed in her paw, startling the two as Judy fumbled to answer it.

Nick watched as Judy answered, smiling as the rabbit looked around, then waved at a _very_ familiar rabbit standing just beyond the police barricade.

“We should give your sister a cape and superhero mask, Judy,” Nick stated, smiling as the pair began walking towards Jessica and Jack. “As she seems to be everywhere we need her to be lately.”  

Judy grinned wryly, though it was interrupted by a rather wide yawn.

“You and me both, Carrots,” Nick chuckled, rubbing her ears affectionately as they approached Judy’s siblings. Though, as they approached, they could tell something was off as Jessica was standing somewhat shyly against the side of her jeep.

“You two need a lift back home?” Jessica asked, a hint of a smile tugging at her lips, though with how droopy her ears were, Judy could tell that the smile was all a facade. She had done the same thing countless times to Nick, only for her ears to reveal her real mood. Not that the fox had any ammo to mock her with, as she had pointed out many times to him about how his tail was better at showing his mood than her ears ever could.

“You alright, Jess?” Judy asked, reaching her paw out to take her sister’s. Jessica nodded, looking at her feet while removing her paw from Judy’s.

“I’m fine, but…” Jessica sighed, her smile momentarily faltering, only to be brought back into place as she looked back up at her sister. “July is having it rough right now.”

The mood became even even more solemn as the three mammals stood in silence, before Jessica finally piped up again. “Well, we should probably get you two home, as I’m guessing you’ll probably be leaving sooner rather than later.”

Judy nodded. “The detectives we work with will be by later tonight to let us know what they found, as well as back in the morning to drive us back into the city.”

“Oh…”

Jessica was silent after that, simply hopping into the jeep and unlocking the back doors from her sister and her partner to enter. Nick held the door open for Judy, then squeezed himself in after her, being careful to avoid slamming his tail in the door.

“Comfortable back there?” Jessica asked, looking back at the other two mammals in her vehicle.

“As we’ll ever be,” Nick dryly replied, yelping as something poked him in his tail. Reaching down, he grabbed a garden trowel that someone had left on the backseat, and tossed it onto the floor of the truck.

“Just think of it as a way for you two to cuddle.” Jessica replied with a wink, yet there was no accompanying smile with it.

“Jessica, are you sure you’re alri-”

“I’m fine, Judy,” Jessica snapped. Judy flinched slightly and Jessica’s ears somehow seemed to lower further. “I’m fine,” she repeated again, softer this time. With Judy pleading at her with her eyes, Jessica turned back to face the front, starting the car. “I’ll...I’ll tell you later. Just, rest up you two lovebirds.”

Judy nodded, knowing better than to antagonize her sister further on the issue. The jeep pulled out onto the main road, the subtle roar of its engine causing Judy’s eyelids to lazily droop.

“I’m sorry about today,” Judy muttered, snuggling into Nick’s side, her eyes closed as her paw found his. “I really wanted to go on the Ferris wheel with you.”

“Maybe some other time, Judy.” Nick murmured, struggling to keep his own eyes open as he stared down at their entwined paws.

“So, everyone knows now...about us, right?” Judy asked softly, the quiet purring of the engine and rocking of the jeep as they blazed down the road sounding like a lullaby to the rabbit.

Nick nodded slowly. “Probably all of Zootopia by now.”

The rabbit sighed heavily, the rumblings of the truck beneath them lulling her to sleep.

 _“So be it,”_ Judy whispered, her eyes closing as she slowly drifted off to sleep, with Nick only lasting long enough to stroke her ears once before his head tilted forward, sleep taking him quickly.

 

* * *

Judy awoke with a start, suddenly realizing that both the rumblings of the jeep had stopped, as well as the sounds accompanying it. She nudged Nick, the fox muttering as he was awakened, stretching his arms and letting out a rather large yawn. Both looked around at the inside of the jeep, noticing that it had indeed stopped in the driveway of Judy’s home, and that their driver, Jessica, was nowhere to be seen.

“I guess we’re home,” Judy shrugged, shuffling over to the door to open it, shivering as the cool autumn air hit her fur. The two mammals walked to the front door, weariness dogging their every step as Nick held open the front door to the home, allowing Judy to walk in first.

Usually, there would have been at least a few of the older Hopps children up at this hour, as it wasn’t even midnight yet, however, as the pair walked into the home, not a single voice could be heard from anywhere.

“Mom, Dad...we’re home,” Judy spoke into the stillness, her eyes scanning the darkness of the entryway for any signs of rabbits walking about. The two moved into the great room, surprised at just how quiet it was. The only lights in the entire area were coming from a crackling fire from the hearth at the far side of the room, or the table lamp next to a nearby sofa...

...where in sat both her parents, nervous expressions on each of their faces.

“Mom, Dad...what’s wrong?” Judy asked, walking over towards them with Nick not far behind.

“Judy, Nick…” Bonnie began, clearing her voice before she continued, her nervousness clearly showing in her voice as she went to grasp Stu’s paw in her own. “We need to talk.”


	27. Lives Observed

 

"Actually, if we could just speak to Nick.." Stu stated, looking at his daughter with trembling paws. The living room went deathly silent, the only sound being the slight ticking of a nearby grandfather clock and the chirping of crickets outside. Judy studied both of her parents' expressions, unsure as to why they would want to meet with Nick, and Nick _alone._ Her father looked more nervous than when she had moved to Zootopia a few years earlier, and her mother…

Her expression was a blank slate, totally unreadable. Judy became more nervous, as that face was one that her mom usually kept stored for only the most serious of situations.

"But...why?" Judy asked, hoping that if she approached the coming storm correctly, she'd be able to stay by Nick's side through whatever her parents had planned for him. "If it is about what happened at the fair today, I think that having both Nick and I explain what happened and..."

"Judith," Bonnie interrupted with a stern yet loving voice, startling the younger doe. "We need to talk to Nick... _alone_."

"Oh…" The younger rabbit's ears wilted as she looked from Bonnie, to Stu, then her eyes finally resting on Nick. Calling her Judy, was used in only special occasions, and was seldom used, just like with Nick and how he generally called her Carrots, or one of the other multitude of nicknames.

_Judith_ , however, was reserved for the most important of times and was of a serious enough nature to warrant instant acknowledgement and observance of whatever came after. The last time she had heard her mother using 'Judith', was when she had come home with a split lip after she had confronted several rabbits bullying a coyote when she was 15. She had been in the middle of explaining what had happened, and how when they attacked _her_ she had no choice but to defend herself. Bonnie had called her by her _full_ name, and after fifteen minutes of chiding, had given her a huge hug and asked her never to do that again.

So for Bonnie to be using her name again after a 15 year hiatus meant that she must have something extremely important to discuss with Nick, in private. That thought didn't do anything to set Judy at ease, and if anything, only made her worry more about what her mother had planned for her discussion with the fox.

Gazing into Nick's eyes, seeing the tenderness within them, as well as him softly placing his paw onto her shoulder, allowed her to release a heavy sigh and resign herself to accepting whatever conversation her parents had in store for her boyfriend.

"I think I can be ok without you for a few minutes, Carrots." The fox leaned down, kissing her lightly on her cheek, squeezing her shoulder gently as she grinned. Neither Stu nor Bonnie seemed startled at the expression of love between them, which lifted a little of the worry that tugged at her heart. She knew that the relationship Nick and she shared was most likely the topic to be discussed, and knowing that they didn't flinch at a kiss between them, gave her hope the conversation wouldn't go all that badly.

Though it was the subtle gulp from Stu accompanying the kiss, as well as the slight twitching of her mother's nose, which caused her to almost lose her nerves and simply disobey both her parents' request and Nick's gentle imploring.

"Could you please go check on July, Judy?" Bonnie interrupted, breaking Judy's gaze from her fox's. "She...hasn't stopped crying since what happened earlier, and I think that seeing her favorite aunt might help her out a bit."

Judy nodded briskly, seeing the tiny upturn of a smile on her mother's face, as well as her paws gently shooing her towards her niece's door. Turning, the young doe cast one last fleeting smile at Nick, who returned it with a casual smile and shake of his head, mouthing the words, _'I'll be fine'_ as she turned and trudged off, looking over her shoulder only once, her eyes betraying the anxiety swirling inside the rabbit. Nick watched her go, smiling until she disappeared into a far off doorway, before he turned to face her parents.

_This is it, Nick._..he thought, noticing how both rabbits motioned for him to sit across from them on a worn looking chair that seemed to have been set up just for him. Compared to the rest of the comfortable furniture in the room, the chair stood out for both the lack of any cushion, and how used it appeared. Padding over, he pulled the chair back, noticing how it wobbled slightly under his touch. He glanced over at the two rabbits sitting opposite of him, as Stu scratched nervously at the back of his neck.

"Sorry. Wasn't expecting this little chit-chat tonight, so that was the only chair I could find your size."

Nick nodded slowly, though grabbed a pillow from a nearby sectional and placed it atop the wooden stool. If he was going to be grilled by the parents of his partner over their relationship, he would at least be _somewhat_ comfortable.

_This is the talk you've been dreading the past week…_ he thought, trying to hide his nervousness as he glanced again at the two rabbits sitting uncomfortably across from him. _You can do this, just...don't let them know they have already gotten to you_.

The fox sat opposite of the two older rabbits, watching as Bonnie straightened her skirt as she sat, while Stu had taken a deep breath, letting it out slowly as if trying to calm himself.

"Before you ask," Nick stated, hoping that by taking the initiative he'd avoid any additional awkwardness that this 'talk' might impose, "your daughter and I have only been dating two days previous to coming here, so a little over a week now. We were close before, but until recently, we just hadn't realized how close we had become and how our care for each other had become something, a bit more than something that just partners have."

Both Stu and Bonnie looked at each other, eyebrows rising before turning back to Nick. "That...wasn't what we wanted to talk to you about," Bonnie stated calmly, though he could tell by the fidgeting of her paws that she was worried about what the true conversation was about.

"Well, it is," Stu interjected in a rush, nodding his head once. "But, it isn't what we wanted to talk about at the moment. Later would be wonderful, but not now."

Nick raised an eyebrow, wondering why that wouldn't be the topic they'd wanted to discuss…

_Oh._..Nick thought. _If that isn't it then…_ Nick tried to judge the expressions on Bonnie's and Stu's faces, hoping that the rather nervous smiles they had weren't due to them being afraid of him, or of them trying to reach for a secret bottle of fox repellant.

Internally, Nick winced just as the sentence Bonnie stated wiped away all of his belief that the following conversation would go smoothly for him. His easy smile fell to a frown, before he managed to just as quickly put his walls up to guard his emotions.

"We wanted to talk about what happened today with you, Judy, and...Gideon."

_Oh, that…_

Nick's tail twitched behind him, swishing side to side as he sat across from the two rabbits, his paws over his knees as he stared directly towards them. Hoping that his tail fidgeting behind him wouldn't betray his anxiousness, he carefully studied Judy's parents. _How much had they seen of what had happened earlier_? He hadn't really been paying attention to anything else besides Judy in those moments. Did they see everything? Only him beating their close friend and business partner? Did they think of _him_ as the savage, and not Gideon?

Before he could let his mind wander any further, tying a mental noose tighter around his own neck while imagining the worst possible outcomes of this conversation, Stu verbally reached over and untied the noose for Nick before the fox could kick out the chair from beneath himself.

"Don't worry, we saw everything so don't worry," Stu proclaimed, though the statement only served to heighten Nick's nerves, the rabbit's eyes reflecting slightly in the darkened room. "We know what you did to save our daughter, and we can't ever thank you enough for it."

The fox just sat there, stunned at the simply statement. No, ' _why did you do it?'_ or _'how can we trust you around our daugher?'_ comments. Nothing of the sort of question he expected them to ask him, leaving him ill-prepared emotionally to handle the sudden compliment.

"However," Bonnie added, and once again, Nick felt the verbal thin slip of rope tightening around his neck. "We have some _concerns_ though about what you did to Gideon."

Nodding, Nick clasped his paws in front of him, breathing in deeply while thinking about what to say. His mind was still a swirling mess from earlier. He'd nearly lost Judy twice in one day, nearly killed another mammal for it, and that wasn't including how they'd been targeted yet again by whatever group seemed to want them either incapacitated, or dead. At least he could be grateful that Judy's parents didn't know about that last part...

He made a mental note on that last point to have a chat with Jack later, as it was the buck's fault that anyone even knew they were in Bunnyburrow, and apparent word had spread to the very mammals they had been trying to avoid. Though at the moment, Nick focused back on the conversation at paw, apparently missing a few sentences of what Bonnie had said while he was lost in his thoughts.

"What are your concerns?" Nick asked, already thinking he knew what they would be. _'Why didn't you just incapacitate him? Why didn't you let the police handle the situation? Why didn't you just run with Judy?'_ The why's of the situation gnawed away in his mind, as he tried to come up with a potential answer to their questions. There was only one real answer he came up with for all of those questions he thought they would ask.

' _I did it to save my world.'_

In the end, it came down to that. Everything he did this afternoon, was to save Judy. To make sure she was safe, so that she wouldn't be taken from him. Was it selfish?

Maybe.

Did he regret his actions?

Yes…

Did he regret the _outcome?_

Never as long as he lived...and even after that, if there was an after. Suddenly, he hoped there was, _just_ so he'd be able to spend an eternity with his beloved partner, rather than just until one of them slipped away, leaving the other left to pick up the pieces.

Nick brought his eyes back up to meet Bonnie's, as the rabbit snuck a quick look at her husband. "Well, we're a bit worried about your emotional control," she said in a tone that could only be described as motherly.

Nick opened his mouth to respond, the well thought out answer to any of their questions he thought they would ask about to roll of his tongue, when the doe's comment registered with his mind, halting what would have been a horrid deflection.

Instead of asking him why he did what he did, they had asked him something far more pertinent. They had asked him, the one who for twenty years had hidden behind the motto of never letting others see that they get to him, how he had painstakingly constructed walls of his own volition, only to obliterate those walls with his own paw.

Sensing the discomfort radiating from the fox, Stu gently took his wife's paw. "What I think Bonnie means, Nick, is that you didn't seem, well… yourself."

Bonnie nodded as Nick's eyes met Stu's. The doe took the fox's silence as the premise to continue. "We both know you care a lot about our daughter, and I've known since the first day you came here that you love her and she loves you."

Bonnie paused, noting Nick's raised eyebrow and flickering ears. "Oh come now, Nick, did you think that a mother wouldn't notice when her daughter is in love, or when that other mammal loves her back? And with how obvious you two were, I'm sure even Stu here had caught onto it, right hon?"

Stu, for his part, gave a sheepish grin. "Well, actually Bon…"

"Nevermind him," Bonnie said waving her paw at her husband while running roughshod over his frown towards his wife. "It was painfully obvious to me that you two were a couple. It was just a question of _when_ you were going to let _us_ know."

Bonnie's voice took on a much softer tone as she reached out her paw to Nick, even though she was too far away to even reach halfway across the distance between them. "Why didn't you want to tell us, Nick? Did you just think we wouldn't approve, or that we'd be mad?"

The fox instantly thought back to the fox repellant that Judy had worn the first time he'd seen her, and recollected the story she'd told him of all the other anti-fox devices that her parents had tried to pawn off on her as she left to Zootopia. Though Nick figured now wouldn't be the best time to bring _that_ particular incident up.

Nick learned very early into his hustling career that the simpler the con was, the more successful they'd be. Dressing a small fox that looks like a child up in an elephant costume to get free jumbo pops? Easy. Convincing a mob boss the rug you were selling him was in fact _not_ made from the butt of a skunk...much harder.

He could easily give Bonnie and Stu the long-winded answer of how both he and Judy had thought and discussed when to tell them at length, of the fears that kept them from admitting their relationship to his partner's parents but…

It was probably for the best to just go with the easiest answer, which was also the most honest he could give the two rabbits.

"I…" Nick sighed, ears lowering in a mixture of guilt and embarrassment. "We were going to tell you tonight. We wanted to tell you all along but…"

Nick let the statement float in the air for a bit, letting both Bonnie and Stu digest it for a moment before continuing as he raised his eyes to meet their combined gaze. "We...I didn't know how you'd react to a fox loving your daughter."

Somehow, the entire nature of the conversation had shifted. The paradigm had changed. If he was playing poker at that moment, he'd be playing with his cards laying on the table for all to see. Deciding that instead of allowing the conversation to be led by the parents of the love of his life, to put himself onto a rickety boat in that turbulent sea of emotional distress, he might as well reveal all he had to offer, and place his fate in their paws.

"Before we talk about anything more," Nick began, raising a paw when Stu's mouth opened to let the rabbit know he wasn't finished. "I think you both deserve to know why I am the way I am, and why today I lost it when I almost lost Judy." Noticing he had their attention, he again took a deep breath, preparing himself for the hardest conversation of his life. "If you are to understand why I love your daughter so much, and why I would do anything to protect her, then you need to know how I grew up, and why your daughter is just so important to me." Nick was grateful he held their undivided attention, and would need it to hopefully get through the next hour or two. He sighed, squirming slightly in his seat as he mentally prepared himself to tell Judy's parents more about his life than anyone, including Judy, had ever heard before.

"You might want to settle yourselves, as this might take a while."

* * *

As Judy walked away from her partner and parents, a clammy feeling welled up inside her gut, making her take a hesitant look back at Nick. Sighing deeply, she turned and made her way towards the hallway where July's room was. It wasn't hard to know which room it was, as only one door was ajar, light and soft hiccups and sobs trickling out of it.

_Oh July..._ Judy thought sadly, making her way quietly over to the young rabbit's door, prodding it open gently. The sight that greeted her tugged at her heart.

July apparently really _did_ want to be a police officer like her aunt, as nearly every spot on the ZPD blue painted walls were plastered with pictures and recruitment posters from the ZPD. Casually glancing around the room, she saw that right above the young rabbit's bed was a framed picture of Judy from a year earlier, little July hugging onto her leg tightly as both offered warm smiles at the camera.

It was like she was feeling the strangest sense of deja vu from being in this room with her niece. The posters, the badges, even the homemade uniform hanging up in the little rabbit's open closet reminded her of the ones she had crafted when she was young, and her dreams bright and innocent, believing in all the good Zootopia offered before realizing all the bad that came with it. Though, unlike July, Judy's first wakeup call to how harsh it is being a police officer came when she was already a member of the force.

July wasn't even seven…

Judy took the picture frame from the desk, glancing from the happy bunnies inside it to the distraught rabbit crying before her, her heart going out to her niece. July looked nothing like the photo of her in the picture, the happy expression of joy gone, replaced by the sorrow which comes from learning just how messy life can _truly_ be.

Judy watched as July sobbed quietly, her knees pulled up into chest as she leaned against the backboard of her bed, her eyes focusing on nothing and everything all at once. Judy shut the door softly, allowing for a slight click to see if that would jar her niece's attention. The little bunny didn't even look at the door, nor to her aunt as the older rabbit walked over to the bed, softly sitting on it next to July.

Not knowing exactly what to say, Judy just let her paw run across July's ears, stroking them tenderly as Bonnie used to do for her when she was upset. July's flickering nose slowed slightly in its frantic twitching, a good sign to the officer that it was calming her down. Judy continued stroking July's ears for what seemed around an hour, not knowing exactly how long as she felt looking at her phone to check the time would be a horrendous thing to do to her niece in her time of need.

Eventually, July sighed heavily, rubbing at her eyes with one arm before sinking her head into her knees.

"I don't want to be a police officer anymore."

The voice was low, filled with a depth of sadness and emotion while all the time being so soft that Judy barely caught it. The comment struck deep into Judy's heart, as she knew how precious her niece's dream to be the first rabbit sheriff of Bunnyburrow had been.

"Why do you say that?" Judy calmed, briefly pausing from stroking July's ears, though leaving her paw caressing her back. "You've always wanted to be the first Sheriff of Bunnyburrow."

July shook her head, burying it further into her knees while holding herself even tighter into a ball. "I don't wanna do that anymore."

Judy paused, trying to find the words to use to comfort in this situation. What July had witnessed today was something that no rabbit, or any mammal kit, should have to go through. Gideon had become a fast friend of the Hopps family in recent years, so much so that he even came over to help babysit the Kerfluffle every now and then, with July being one of the prime bunnies who latched onto his tail whenever the burly fox would arrive.

Her niece had witnessed her favorite fox turn savage, nearly kill her favorite aunt, and then nearly be beaten to death by her aunt's boyfriend. No wonder why when Judy had knocked, July had been looking so distraught.

Judy sighed. "Is it because of what happened today?"

A nod came from the smaller rabbit, "Uh huh."

"Are you worried about Gideon?"

Another nod.

"Are you afraid of what happened today?"

Judy knew it was a loaded question. Of course July had been afraid of what had occurred. After Nick had calmed down some, and Judy had been able to stand on her own two paws after the fight with Gideon, she had noticed that July was staring up at her, the little rabbit's nose twitching faster than ever. When Judy had walked towards her, the younger rabbit had cringed and fled to behind Bonnie's leg, holding onto the elderly rabbit tightly.

It had nearly crushed Judy's heart at that moment, though to be fair, she was covered in what looked like blood and was still stumbling slightly from the near-death experience with the condiment table, so she completely understood why July would be afraid of her at that moment.

So of course, July's nod in response to her question was somewhat predictable.

"I can't be a cop like you if I'm afraid…" July murmured.

Judy thought about her niece's words for several minutes, letting them stew in her mind, though letting her gently stroking of July's ears begin again as the little bunny's nose began twitching again in earnest.

When she finally did speak, Judy knew what to say to help the future sheriff of Bunnyburrow.

"Did you know that I was afraid this afternoon as well?"

July's nose hitched slightly as the kit looked up at her aunt. "What?"

Judy nodded, "You weren't the only one scared today by what happened. I was worried as well.

"But…" July stammered, wiping at her nose while sniffling. "You can't be scared, because you're a cop. You're not scared of anything."

"I was today," Judy said haltingly, pausing in her gentle stroking as July looked up at her.

"You were?"

Judy nodded, "Yes, I was." Trying to hold back her emotions to keep what little respite her niece was feeling intact, she calmly stated.

"Oh…" July stated, seeming to struggle with the thought that her brave Aunt could actually be frightened of something. "I guess even police get scared, but, you know what?"

"What's that?" Judy asked, her eyebrow raising as July grinned.

"I think that the zebra you were fighting was even more scared."

Judy laughed softly and offered the kit a smile while ruffling her ears. "It isn't a matter of who is more scared of who and just because I'm a police officer, doesn't mean I'm not scared in certain situations. I think that even an elephant would have been frightened today by what happened."

Still looking at her, Judy decided to press home her thoughts, hoping that she'd be able to calm her niece's fears. "Being a cop doesn't mean that you aren't scared at anytime, but it means that you conquer your fears and push through them. It means being brave when you have to be."

"But how…" the kit stammered again. "Gideon is my friend...your friend too. How, how could he hit you like that? How can you not be afraid?"

Judy's smile faltered slightly, memories of nearly 17 years earlier tugging at her mind. Shaking them off, she again put a smile on her face. "Gideon wasn't Gideon today when you saw him."

"What do you mean?" July asked, wiping her eyes with the back of her paw.

"Well," Judy bit her lower lip, trying to figure out how to explain to the younger rabbit about _exactly_ what happened earlier. "You know those flowers that Grandpa is always telling you to stay away from?" July nodded, allowing Judy to continue. "Well, someone forced Gideon to have those, so became very mean and angry, and wasn't himself. He couldn't control what he was doing."

"Oh…" July stated softly, her eyes looking down at her clasped paws.

Judy nodded, moving in closer to her niece while pulling the covers up snugly around her. Her thoughts again revolved back to the events of those few moments. Gideon's paw coming towards her, Nick's last second rescue of her which saved her life. Then of the foggy awareness from when she was drifting in and out of consciousness, seeing blurred shadows and hearing only muffled noises, as if a thick blanket had been wrapped around her head.

She sighed, looking down at her niece. "It is alright to be afraid in some situations, even as a police officer, I am sometimes afraid, but, I have a partner who will always be there to back me up and help me through those moments." Judy slowly caressed July's ears back, smiling as her eyes began fluttering slightly. "And you will have just as amazing of a partner as I have when you become the first rabbit sheriff of Bunnyburrow. I'm _sure_ of it."

Little July grinned, her eyes closing slightly as she shook her head back and forth. "Nuh uh. I don't think there is a better cop than you or Uncle Nick.

Judy laughed lightly, her smile growing while she placed her paw against her hip. "Now where are you getting this 'Uncle Nick' from?" she laughed as her paw went from July's ears to her side, tickling the younger rabbit and causing her to squirm with laughter.

"Well," July giggled, calming as Judy pulled her paw away from her side, "Isn't that what I'll call him when you two get married?"

The innocence of the statement caught Judy fully by surprise and her mouth dropped open. "How...why do you say that?" she finally managed to ask after several seconds, while a massive blush rushed under her fur and into her ears. Hearing those kind of words spoken aloud, and in such a matter of fact way, especially from a kit so young, gave her a strange feeling, something which combined both self-consciousness and desire. She didn't exactly want her deepest feelings open for all. How much had she already given away? How much had _they_ given away?

July giggled when she saw the gaping expression on Judy's face, and the child's ears fully raised, "I've only seen married mammals kiss the way you and Uncle Nick did today, and I don't see a ring on your finger so he must be planning on giving you one soon." July crossed her paws across her chest, grinning cheekily while giggling slightly.

"Oh sweet heavens," Judy grumbled, though with a hint of a smile playing at the edges of her lips. "You saw that?"

July nodded. "Uh huh. Grandma tried to cover my eyes, but I still saw it." The little rabbit pushed off her blue comforter with police badges printed across it as she sat up. "So, when you two get married, can I be your flower girl?"

"Well," Judy's blush intensified as her paw went to stroke her ears, relieving some of the heat building in them. "I think it is too soon to be talking about marriage as…"

"But you love him," July interrupted, her eyes suddenly taking on a more apprehensive look. "Don't you?"

_Don't you?_ Judy wondered, the statement mulling itself over in her mind. Looking down at her niece, Judy knew the answer, but also knew just what it meant. She _did_ love Nick, but marriage…

"Well do you?" July huffed, her eyes slightly narrowing as Judy sat fumbling for right answer.

"Do I love Nick?" Judy replied, her smile widening as she repeated the statement to herself in her mind. "Yes," she finally replied, amethyst eyes resting tenderly upon July's hazel ones. "Yes, I love him more than any other mammal in the world."

July's grin brightened, and the older doe was taken by surprise as the small kit leapt into her lap, wrapping her tiny arms around her while trembling with joy.

"Then you need to marry him," July cooed, snuggling into her aunt's chest as Judy practically melted at the sight and feelings she was experiencing. Judy wrapped her arms around her niece, tears beginning to trickle down across her cheeks as she gently stroked the young bunny's ears as before.

"I will," she promised, reluctantly pulling her niece away from her while looking into her hazel eyes. " _However_ , if you want to be the flower girl at my wedding, you have to promise me two things..."

July nodded vigorously.

"Alright, first, you have to promise you won't give up on your dreams to be the first rabbit sheriff of Bunnyburrow, okay?"

"Okay."

"And two," Judy grinned, pulling the cover back up and over her niece, covering her completely as the tiny rabbit struggled to pull them off herself. "You have to go to bed, you silly little fluffball."

"Do I have to?" July moaned, finally managing to get her head from under the cover of her blanket.

"You do," Judy replied, tucking July in while smoothing her sheets out slightly, "if you ever want to have Nick be your uncle."

July gasped, quickly closing her eyes while rolling onto her side. Judy couldn't help but laugh at her niece's sudden actions, before sliding off the bed herself and walking to the door, clicking the light off as she opened the door to leave.

"Night, Aunt Judy..." came a sleepy voice from inside the room, the tiny rabbit barely illuminated by a nightlight shaped like a ZPD badge on her wall near her bed.

Judy smiled at the tiny form, feeling what it must be like to be a mother in that instant for the sudden burst of love she felt towards her nice.

"Goodnight July."

* * *

Judy closed the door softly, trying her best to keep it from clicking too loudly before she leaned back against the wall, head up while tears causing her vision to become muddled.

_So that is what it must be like to be a mother_...she thought, the tears now flowing down her cheeks as her mind was flooded with memories of her youth, focusing mostly on moments spent with her own mother, making pies, playing in the garden, of her reading her bedtime stories. She wiped at the tears staining her cheeks, wondering if she'd have the chance to do those same activities with her own kits one day.

_You can never experience that if you marry Nick...you'll never have kits of your own._

The thought invaded her happiness like a angry hornet, scattering the pleasurable thoughts of her youth. The suddenness of it caught her off guard, and a new wave of confusion and sadness swelled within her.

_If I marry Nick we...we can't have kits._

They'd be no giggling or laughter waking her and Nick up in the morning as their kids would barge into their room, waking them up. No playing in the dirt, discovering worms with her daughters, or of hugging her sons as they came in with scrapes while trying to hold back tears as 'real boys don't cry'. They'd be nothing of the sort, just Nick and herself.

If she married Nick, like she had just promised her niece, then she'd never be able to have the experience she just had with July, with her own kits. It was a harrowing thought, even if she hadn't given much thought to her starting her own family anytime soon.

Then again, just a week ago she hadn't even given much thought to Nick even liking her in any other way than being platonic friends.

She didn't even realize she had slid to the floor, staring aimlessly at the wall opposite her until the chiming of the grandfather clock in the main hall distracted her from her haunting thoughts. Wiping her eyes, she counted the chimes, realizing that she had been sitting by herself for quite a while.

"How quickly time flies…" Judy muttered sadly, her thoughts now dwelling upon both the joys and sorrows a future with her fox would entail.

Nick…

"Sweet cheese and crackers," she murmured aloud, dragging her paws across her ears as she realized with all the time that had passed, that Nick was probably still alone with her parents. _I can't believe I left Nick with them so long._

Judy pushed herself off the floor before beginning to walk back towards the main living area. Sneaking out of the second 'J' hall that was built for the group of her siblings that formed the second 'J' litter, she found herself suddenly in complete darkness. Turning her phone's light on, she wondered where Nick and her parents had gone, as none of them were currently in the main room.

_Maybe they already finished and he's in his room?_ she wondered, crossing the massive great room, avoiding the randomly placed chair or odd toy littering the ground. Making it to his room, she was puzzled when she found it empty, no sign of her partner anywhere.

Acting on a hunch, she crossed over to her hallways, wondering if maybe he'd be waiting for her in her room, wanting to surprise her or something. Entering the corridor at a brisk walk, she came swiftly to her door, only to find it empty as well.

_Where could he be?_ she wondered, her foot beginning to tap quickly against the carpeted floor.

Her thoughts were interrupted as her ears shot up, a slight sound coming from two doors down. Turning in that direction, Judy stepped softly towards the closed door, stopping when she realized it was Jessica's, and that the strange sound she now heard was something she hadn't heard from her strong-willed sister in a long time.

Knocking once, Judy gently pushed the door open, her heart splitting as she saw the huddled form of her sister sitting on the floor, sobbing heavily while staring at a picture which had been ripped in half, both pieces laying on the carpet in front of her.

"Jessica...are you alright?" Judy asked, walking carefully but quickly into the room and sitting next to her sister.

The other rabbit shook her head, mumbling a slight ' _no'_ which sounded more like a hiccup than a word being spoken. Wrapping her arms around her sister, Judy began rubbing Jessica's shoulder. "Is it something you can talk about?"

Jessica wiped at her nose with the back of her paw, looking up into her sister's amethyst eyes with her own tear riddled ones. "I...broke up with Jack," she finally whispered, pulling a new wave of tears and sobs as her head dipped down once more, her paws covering her eyes.

"But why?" Judy asked, her confusion evident in her voice. From what she'd seen of the pair, they got along rather well. Even when Jack had done something stupid, which Judy had witnessed several times now, the Buck always tried to mend things with Jessica.

Jessica looked up again, her ears wilted as low as they could go, her eyes showing renewed intensity over whatever it was she was remembering. "When I told him what happened to you today, he...he, asked if that meant he no longer could interview you…didn't even ask how you were doing, or about me, our family...or anything," she hiccuped, frowning deeply, as if the extra effort could fight away her tears for her. "All he cared about was that stupid interview so...so I slapped him...and told him that I never want to see him again." Judy hugged her sister closer as her twin began crying again. "Oh Judy, why can't I ever find the right buck!"

For the next several minutes, Judy sat at the foot of Jessica's bed, cradling her sister, rocking her gently in an effort to calm her, giving her a strange sense of deja vu with what she'd done earlier with July. It wasn't the first time she'd done this for her sister. Back when they were in middle school, Jessica had fallen hard for the Bucksworth boy, Edward. She had planned on marrying him and he had told her the same. It was only a few weeks later Jessica that found out he had told the same thing to several other does in their class, effectively ripping out Jessica's heart at the time.

It had only been one miserable experience after another for the poor doe after that for Jessica, and Judy knew that when it came to matters of the heart, Jessica was an open book. She may be overly passionate with a gregarious personality, but above all that, she was honest. Which caused Judy a twist of pain at berating Nick earlier about giving the rabbit reporter a chance. She should have just trusted Nick's judgement about him. If she had simply listened to her partner, all of this may have been avoided.

Judy sighed, putting away her own frustrations as she knew what she needed to do to help her twin recover from this most recent heartbreak. Thirty minutes of ' _there there's'_ and gentle rocking, followed by several light-hearted jokes about slashing the tires of whichever buck's car that had broken her heart that time around, in this case Jack's, finished up with a cup of hot cocoa or tea and raspberry jam covered biscuits was the required treatment for her sister's heartache.

Except right as Judy was about to explain how easily they could slash the reporter's tires, Jessica's phone rang. The noise caused only confusion for Judy, but the soft tune seemed to generate panic in her sister, as the doe literally jumped out of Judy's arms, fumbling her paw into her pocket for her phone as it continued to ring.

Yet when she finally managed to pull it out of her pocket, she simply stared at the picture on the screen and reached her paw out to touch it, only to hesitate, leaving her finger quivering in the air.

Judy rolled her eyes and grabbed the phone from her sister's paw to a loud ' _Hey!'_ , as her sister's audio and visual clues gave her a good idea of who was calling Jessica this late at night _._ Anyone who made her sister cry, and insult her family, would be getting an earful from _her._ A glare settled over Judy's features as she saw the picture and name of who was calling.

"Jessica," Judy stated flatly, swiping her finger across the screen to the 'reject' button, ending the call. "You do _not_ need to be thinking of talking to him right now." No sooner had she finished her statement, than the phone buzzed again. Jessica reached for it, only to have her paw batted away as Judy again looked at the screen.

Same picture...same name.

"That's the 14th time he's called," Jessica stammered as the phone continued to buzz, the tune of "I love you just the way you are' filling the air. "He's also left somewhere around 20 texts. I don't know...I stopped counting when you came in..."

Judy looked from her sister, to the phone, frustration and anger building inside her.

She swiped her paw the other way than before, towards the green.

"Jessica?" Judy heard Jack's frantic voice on the other side of the line. "Thank goodness you picked up. I'm so sorry for…"

"Listen here, you cheese-faced dirty bucktooth," Judy hollered into the phone, hoping that her voice would cause Jack to flinch, or at least hurt his ears a bit. "You will _stop_ harassing my sister or, so help me, I'll be bringing the entire Precinct 1 SWAT on your fluffy little tail so hard you'll be eating pudding cups through an IV!"

As she heard a muffled complaint from the other side of the line, she smashed the 'end call' button, before pulling out the phone's batteries and tossing them to the side, finally handing the phone back to Jessica, who had a horrified look on her face.

" _JUDY!"_ she gasped, placing her paws over her mouth. "That…"

"Felt refreshingly good to tell him off like that, yes, yes it did," Judy completed for her, giving her sister a sly smile. "Would you like to do it next time?"

Jessica couldn't help by smile slightly, giggling softly into her paws. "Oh Judy, if that is what you do to your sister's ex-boyfriends, I'd _hate_ to see what you'd do to Nick if he ever did anything to you."

"Oh, that's easy," Judy laughed, grateful her stunt with Jack managed to pull Jessica's focus away from her heartbreak. "I just sign him up for the next round of sparring practices with myself and Bogo."

Jessica's mouth dropped. "Isn't that your boss?" she asked, as Judy nodded back at her question. "Oh melon seeds, _Judy_...you scoundrel!" Jessica lightheartedly slapped her sister's side, causing both to laugh for a moment before calming down.

"Feeling better, Jess?" Judy asked, hoping that even bringing up the subject again wouldn't cause her sister to burst into tears again. Thankfully, when Jessica nodded, doing little more than offering a shaky grin in reply, Judy felt the weight of sorrow lift slightly from the room.

"I think once I sleep on what happened, I'll feel better," Jessica said glumly before her ears perked up. "But what am I saying? I should be asking how you are doing! You nearly died today, Judes!" Jessica looked slightly panicked as she placed her paw on Judy's shoulder. "Here we are talking about me and my jerk of a ex when you shouldn't even be up and walking about but resting!"

"It wasn't that bad," Judy grumbled, rubbing the back of her head, hiding the wince at the slight amount of pain she felt at the simple touch. "It's not like it wasn't my first concussion or life and death experience."

"But this was your first when attacked by a savage mammal, and Gideon no less!" Jessica exclaimed, waving her paws to her sides.

"Gideon, is the one we should be worried about, Jess," Judy breathed out irritably, casting her sister a sideways glance, "Not me."

Judy sighed, her worry over her family friend nagging at her. Though thinking of that fox brought to mind _another_ fox, and one who she desperately wanted to see.

"Jessica, I need to go," Judy said suddenly, pulling herself up to the bewilderment of her sister. "Did you happen to hear Nick pass by earlier?"

Jessica's eyes lit up in understanding of Judy's hasty exit, but she sadly shook her head. "I'm sorry, I kind of haven't been myself the past few hours…"

"Carrot sticks," Judy grumbled, heading towards the door, not seeing her sister cautiously retrieving her phone, staring at the screen while giving a heavy sigh.

Leaving the room, Judy made her way back into the great hall, scratching her head in confusion over where Nick and her parents could have gone as the room was still bereft of both rabbits and foxes. Without the aid of her phone's flashlight, as the moonlight from outside was now filtering in the massive bay windows of the home, Judy made her way towards the front of the house, noticing for the first time light streaming from underneath the door to the kitchen.

_I hope he's just getting a midnight snack_...Judy thought as she crossed to the door and opened it.

"Oh, hey there, Jude the Dude," her father exclaimed, noticing the look of surprise then sadness on his daughter's face as she let the door shut behind her. Bonnie was standing beside her husband, both nursing fresh cups of coffee and by the looks on their faces, had been deep in conversation before she had entered.

"Dad, do you know where Nick went?" Judy asked, pausing just slightly inside the room, holding the door open and ready to leave in an instant for wherever they said her fox had gone.

"Oh, he left," Stu stated bluntly, swirling the cup of coffee in his paw before taking a long draught of the steaming liquid.

Judy stood there in horrific silence, a sudden chill working its way through her body from her feet to the tufts of her ears, which drooped behind her. She suddenly felt ill, gripping her stomach almost as if she was physically punched at the three simple words he had said so flippantly, like they hadn't even mattered to him at all that Nick was gone. Her eyes widened in shock and she managed to catch herself on a nearby chair, as she felt her knees begin to tremble. She just stared in horror at her parents whose eyes finally rose to meet her gaze, as a cold sweat of anxiousness washed over her.

"He... _what?!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congrats, you guys are getting this around 11 hours before everyone on ff.net gets it. Just don't share it yet, it will be our little secret for a half a day. But don't forget to leave a comment about what you thought about the chapter. I want to know what you guys think about the story. What's good, what's bad, what you liked, disliked, etc. :) So enjoy your sneak peek! ;)


	28. Confessions

 "What do you mean he _left?_ " Judy sputtered again, her eyes wide in shock and worry. A faint feeling of shock boiled up inside her at the thought of Nick leaving the burrow without her. _No, he wouldn’t do that.._.Judy reasoned, trying her best to calm her sudden anxiety. _Nick just wouldn’t leave me...not after today_. Looking to her parents, she saw her mother looking suddenly furious, glaring at her husband.

"Oh Stu, look what you did..." Bonnie slapped her husband's arm harshly, causing some of his coffee to spill onto his overalls. Stu yelped, jumping up to grab a pawful of paper towels from a nearby dispenser on the counter, dabbing at his clothes. He shot a glare at his wife, one that she returned with equal ferocity, causing his own to wilt as he went to sit back down at the table. Turning to her now near-frantic daughter, Bonnie quickly added "Judy, he didn't _leave_ leave, he just went outside to catch some air. Something about collecting his thoughts.”

"Where did he go?" Judy interrupted, her voice calming slightly, though still retaining a bit of her worried tone.

Bonnie looked at her husband, who shrugged, then took another sip of his coffee, only to have Bonnie slap him behind his head. Coffee again shot from his cup and mouth, this time coating his overalls in the liquid.

"Cripes, Bonnie!" Stu yelped, jumping up, the sudden motion only causing more scalding liquid to slosh onto the buck. He set the cup down onto the table, frantically pawing at his clothing, running from the room towards his bedroom. As both females heard the door to Stu and Bonnie's bedroom slam in the distance, Bonnie shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"I'm terribly sorry about that Judy," Bonnie began. "But you know your father, blunt as a board and wields words about as well as a toddler."

Judy laughed lightly, lowering her eyes to the floor. What her father had stated had nearly given her a heart attack. For that brief moment, she had thought that whatever had transpired in the conversation between Nick and her parents, something had gone awfully wrong, and silent fears had been realized. That they may have insulted him, or belittled him in some way that he'd just up and leave everything he'd worked on during the past two years…

_Correction_ , Judy thought. _Everything we've worked on_.

To be honest with herself, it was a panicked reaction that she shouldn't have even entertained. Even though the prior meetings between Nick and her parents had been sparse and far between, they had been genuine in their appraisal of the fox, all besides the meeting at the hospital after they had been attacked by Mr Shepherd.

But she _had_ thought of it, and feeling panicked at hearing him leave was her _first_ reaction. Not her second, third, or not at all. It was her _first…_

The doe sighed heavily, placing her paw to her forehead. Nick was fine, he just went to get some air, and he'd be back soon. After looking back up and into her mother's eyes and seeing the happiness mixed with worry in them, Judy decided she didn't _want_ to wait to see where Nick went. She knew that Nick valued his privacy, which is one reason she knew he was so antsy about when Bogo told them they'd have to move in together into the safehouse. Every few weeks he'd send her a text, stating he needed a day to himself…

_A text…_

Judy whipped out her phone, and with her paw brushing across the screen, a hint of a smile appeared as she saw a single new message from ten minutes earlier. Pressing it, her smile broadened when she saw it was indeed from her fox.

_Her_ fox.

The text was short - only three words - but Judy understood immediately where Nick had gone.

_Tire swing, Carrots_

Two nights prior, Judy had awoken in the middle of the night, feeling infinitely restless after nearly getting caught several times by her mother when she had tried to visit Nick in his room. Finally throwing off the covers, she hopped out of bed and made her way to the kitchen for a little warm milk to soothe her nerves. Much to her surprise, Nick was in the kitchen as well, fur frazzled and eyes bleary as he nursed a cup of coffee in his paws.

He had been as surprised as her when he saw her enter, though offered a genuine smile as he shuffled over to her and gave her a quick hug and kiss. Deciding, as the kiss and embrace became much more, that they needed a little solitude, Judy led him by the paw to a nearby hill where a tire swing hung from a low hanging branch of a massive oak tree her grandfather had planted nearly 50 years earlier.

Together, they sat under the boughs of the tree, looking up at the stars in the cloudless night. The city fox seeing, for the first time, the beauty that the night sky held in the countryside.

Judy smiled at the memory, and knew that if Nick was heading to that hill, to that tire swing...to _their_ memories...she wanted to be there with him.

"Mom, do we have any hot cocoa?"

Bonnie started at the seemingly random question, before nodding her head slowly. "Of course, second cupboard on the right above the sink."

Judy nodded then found the cupboard and grabbed several packets of cocoa before heading towards the coffeemaker. Making sure that no grounds were already in the container, she pulled a thermos from near the triple set of dishwashers and replaced the carafe, allowing the steaming water to flow directly into the container.

Pulling two mugs from another cupboard, she realized she needed one more thing to comfort Nick with whatever thoughts were capturing his mind at the moment. Running to the large living room, she grabbed a heavy cotton blanket from the nearest sofa, surprised when one of her nephews tumbled out of the jumbled mass of fluff.

" _Sorry_..." Judy murmured when the kit glared at her with bleary eyes, rubbing the back of his head as the doe ran back into the kitchen. Entering just as the thermos filled to the right amount, Judy ripped open the packets of cocoa and dumped them into the thermos, tightening the lid and giving it several good shakes to mix it well. Grabbing the two mugs she'd set out earlier, she adjusted the blanket beneath her arm and bolted for the door, all while her mother just stared at her quizzically.

“Judy?”

The younger doe halted at her mother’s call, turning her head so she could both see her, and still hold the door open. Her mother smiled warmly, though from the way she flattened her dress with her paws, Judy could tell she was nervous about something.

“I...” Bonnie started, before her voice hitched slightly. Judy’s shoulders sagged and quickly placing her items onto the ground, she ran over and hugged her mother, the older doe returning the gesture as tears welled in the corners of her eyes. “Judy, I...just want to let you know, that out of all the bucks any of your siblings have brought home, Nick is the kindest one I’ve met so far.”

Judy moved slightly away from her mother, looking into the older lapine’s eyes with confusion in her own. “Mother, what are you saying?”

“What I’m saying is this, Bon Bon,” Bonnie laughed, pulling her daughter in close again while whispering in her ear. “When you need your wedding dress, Martha Buckston down the road can stitch you up a perfect one that will cause Nick’s jaw to drop.”

“ _Mother_ …” Judy sputtered, before tearing up herself at what her mother implied by so simple a statement. Not only did her mother approve of Nick, meaning that the conversation between her parents and her boyfriends went well, but that her mother, one who had been afraid of foxes her entire life, was now wanting one as a son-in-law. Judy wrapped her arms around her mother, sniffing and wiping at her eyes with her paw as they separated from each other.

“Now,” Bonnie exclaimed, brushing at the collar of Judy’s plaid shirt. “You go out there and catch yourself your fox.” Judy nodded, and without another word, dashed to the door, grabbing the blanket, thermos and two mugs before bolting out onto the porch.

As the door to the porch slammed shut behind the doe, Bonnie just shook her head, laughing slightly as thoughts of her own youthful romance returned her thoughts to younger days.

"Ah, to be young again..." Bonnie hummed, swiping her husband's nearly empty coffee mug from the table and depositing it into the massive sink with its five faucets that helped greatly with dish cleaning after meals. Dumping the cup into the sink, she padded over to the light and flicked it off, heading off to her bedroom, her mind focused on the conversation that she just had with her daughter's...partner. _And, hopefully, more than that soon_...Bonnie thought with a grin.

 

* * *

Judy was breathing heavily by the time she made it halfway up the hill. Apparently sprinting for long distances after having a small concussion wasn't the best idea, especially when running through uneven terrain. Several times she nearly tripped over exposed roots or hidden holes, but with the pale light coming from the waning moon, she managed to avoid the most egregious of the pitfalls on the way to the hill.

Her mouth widened to a grin when she saw him, a lone figure atop the hill, just beneath the branches of the tree, his back to her and his eyes focused on the stars above. He was propped up on his elbows, simply staring up into the night sky above. Even from a distance, she could see his ears turn towards her and the corners of his mouth turning upwards into a grin. With what her mother just told her, she was more than eager to learn what had happened between Nick and her parents.

"Glad you could make it, Carrots," he sighed as she approached, turning his head only slightly in her direction. Never a truer statement had the fox said in his entire life. He watched her approach, lavender eyes shining in the moonlight and he could just make out a hint of a smile on her lips. After what he just went through with her parents, he needed her presence, which was why he left to come to this spot. Where he knew she’d come, and where they’d be alone to just spend much needed alone time, together.

What also went noticed was a collection of mugs and blankets in her paws.  "I was thinking of only being here for a few hours, but it seems like someone is ready to go camping for the night."

Judy rolled her eyes. "I thought you enjoyed camping, Mister Junior Ranger Scout."

Nick chuckled, then turned his head to look back up into the sky, his grin being replaced by a more solemn expression. Judy walked to his side, gently placing the two mugs and thermos down before unrolling the blanket, sitting down on it gently while patting the spot next to her, her eyes trained upon Nick. The fox rolled his eyes, chuckling as he scooted over to join his rabbit, who by that time already had a steaming cup of cocoa ready to be placed in his paw.

“So,” Judy began, drawing out the ‘o’ for a few seconds. “Mom seems to like you.”

Nick’s ears flicked. “Oh, she does?”

Judy nodded, taking a sip of her cocoa. “Yep. Though I didn’t get to ask Dad about you, as he _kinda_ got coffee all over himself after Mom slapped him.”

Nick’s eyebrow arched. “Bonnie slapped him?”

“Yeah, she did” Judy repeated, rubbing her ears. “When I asked them where you were, he simply stated, ‘He left’, and that was it, so I kind of…”

“Became an overly-emotional bunny?” Nick finished for her. From the glimmer of a drifting smile on his face, she could tell it was said in jest, though much of his usual snark was missing from the comment, making it void of his usual humor. Something was bothering him, and after spending so much time with him over the past nearly two years, she knew it was something else besides what happened earlier.

“Nick, can I ask you a question?”

The fox gazed at her, nodding slightly.

“If the conversation with my parents went so well that mother was practically pushing me out the door to go to you, why did you leave to come up here and not try to find me?”

Nick sighed deeply, his gaze dropping to the ground as she moved into a sitting position, his tail resting behind him. “Well, the easy answer is that I needed someplace where I could think. The long story, well...that’s a long story, Carrots,” he murmured, his ears lowering slightly.

“We have time,” Judy replied, “and lots of cocoa for whatever you’d like to say.”

Nick chuckled, though it sounded more tired than merry. “How about a deal; you answer my question, and I’ll answer your question.”

“Sounds fair,” the rabbit replied as Nick drained the last of the cocoa from his mug.

Nick turned to Judy, placing the now empty mug on the blanket between them. His emerald eyes gazed into her own, with such a sudden intensity and what looked  it caused Judy to shiver, and not just due to the light breeze blowing across the hill.

“Judy, am I a good mammal?”

“Of course,” Judy blurted out automatically and without hesitation. Nick shook his head.

“No, no... _think_ about it Judy, and not just with your heart. Am _I_ a good _mammal_?”

“I…” Judy faltered, her nose twitching as a different version of that question came to her mind.

_So let me ask you a question. Are you afraid of me?_ Same question, different words.

“Nick, you _know_ I’m not afraid of you, if that’s what you mean.” She noticed his ears drooped along with his shoulders. Judy continued on, placing a paw on his own. “You are the kindest mammal I’ve ever met, and wouldn’t dare dream of living another day without having you as my partner, at work, and in our personal lives.”

“Judy,” Nick breathed out heavily, as if a weight was crushing him. The rabbit halted him before he even got out another word.

“Nick, I _know_ without a doubt that you are a good mammal. Sure you’ve had faults, you’ve had the incident with the scouts that caused you to become lost for a while.”  Judy moved her paw from the spot over his, to placing it on his chest over his heart. “But the real Nick, the _true_ you, has always been in here.”

Nick turned his head down, then raised it to look at the sky, not saying a word for several minutes. Judy just watched him, knowing by how his tail swished behind him and his ears would twitch, that he was deep in thought.

“There was a lot more than just that experience with the Junior Ranger Scouts, Judy.”

Judy turned her head, her ears fully erect above her at his comment. It was a rare moment when Nick mentioned anything about that experience, or even anything about his past. When she noticed that Nick seemed to be readying himself for saying something more, she simply placed her paw upon his own, giving him a cheerful smile, one which he returned, albeit meekly.

“When I was talking with your parents, I thought that they would want to discuss what happened with Gideon, but, instead, the one question they asked me was about my emotional control. They asked if I had a history of such... _violent_ tendencies.”

His smile fell from his lips, causing Judy to squeeze his paw gently in reassurance.

“Nick...you aren’t a violent mammal,” Judy soothed, taking her other paw and placing it against his cheek. “If you had been the one who was hurt, I would probably would have done the exact same thing.”

Nick scoffed, looking at the rabbit with a wry grin, but by the soft squeeze he gave her paw, Judy knew he appreciated her concern and comment.

“Judy,” he breathed softly, turning to gaze beyond the swaying branches of trees to the darkling sky above, “you don’t really know me at all, do you.”

The comment from the fox took her completely by surprise and shocked her directly to her core. Before she could even try to retort his statement, the fox spoke back up.

“Now before you go and say you know who I am, I’m just going to stop you right now.” His eyes were fierce, yet tender in their own way, causing Judy to gulp slightly as Nick continued. “But that isn’t your fault at all. I haven’t been open with you about my past, and I haven’t even begun to let you into my life.”

“You told me about the Junior Ranger Scouts though...” Judy interjected.

Nick chuckled, though the sound died slowly as there was no mirth contained within the sound. “Again, that was only the tip of the iceberg, Judy. And...I think it is time that you heard the rest of it, or at least as much of it as I can.”

Judy paused, noticing that the fox was waiting for some reaction from her before he continued. The rabbit was worried about what sort of history her fox would tell her, though she knew that whatever he said, she wouldn’t love him any less for it. Whatever he had done, she could forgive him as he had shown in the past two years that he was more than a changed fox from his past.

He was an entirely new mammal.

Judy nodded, smiling brightly at her friend.

Nodding himself, Nick cleared his throat, readying himself mentally and physically for what he was about to tell his best friend and partner.

“So you know about what happened with the Junior Ranger Scouts, and how that changed my life for the worse, but there is much more that happened afterwards. Leaving the building after that, _incident..._

_...the young fox wept bitterly as he rushed down the stair, paws tearing at the metal contraption that tore into his muzzle. Rushing around the corner from the stairs, the jeers of who he once thought of as friends still ringing in his ears, Nick leaned against the stairwell, breathing heavily as tears poured from his eyes._

_His paws went quickly to the muzzle, trying desperately to pry it off his face. Eventually tearing it off, painfully pulling much of his facial fur along with it, Nick collapsed against the cement, weeping at a suddenly lost childhood and innocence that he didn’t expect to lose on what was supposed to be such an exciting experience._

_Nearly twenty minutes later, as his tears were completely spent and he thought he heard the faint sound of paws and hooves coming from within the scout hall, Nick frantically pushed himself to run away from the building, barely making it ten feet before the door flung open, the sound of laughter filling his ears. Not wanting to be found again, he scampered behind the nearest thing he could that he thought would hide him from the cruel kits he wanted to be friends with - several overflowing cans of garbage a few feet away._

_“Did you see that fox’s face?” a voice laughed, joined quickly by the cruel sounding laughter from others. “His expression was the best so far!”_

_“I know right?” another voice, one he recognized as the gnu that held him down to be muzzled. “Too bad the other guy flaked out on us.”_

_“Seriously,” a third voice joined in. Nick heard the jingling of metal, his heart freezing as he recognized the horrible sound. “Now what are we going to do with this other muzzle. I’ve never muzzled a wolf before, and really wanted to…”_

_“Come on William, we’ll find one that wants to be muzzled,” a short burst of laughter sounded from the kits throat, “I mean, wants to be a scout.”_

_Laughter split the air as through the space between two cans, Nick watched the five scouts walk past his hidden location, though the muskrat that led them paused, looking at something on the ground._

_“Hey guys, check this out!”_

_The other four gathered around him as he picked up an item off the ground._

_Nick’s breath hitched as the flash of metal appeared in the mammal’s paw._

_“Looks like he got it off,” the muskrat muttered callously._

_“Why would he want to get rid of such a lovely gift?” the zebra spoke up, earning snickers from the others in the group. His eyes lit up as he clapped his hooves  together. “Oh, do you still have his address? Let’s give it back to him!”_

_“For sure,” the gnu laughed. “Let’s have Henry give it to him when we knock on his door,” he stated while motioning to the horse foal._

_“Oh shut it Yax,” the foal stated, knocking off the gnu’s hat. The antelope glared at the horse, muttering as he picked up his hat off the ground._

_“Come on guys, let’s go find something to eat.”_

_The other scouts murmured their agreement and the pack sauntered off, their hoof and paw-falls disappearing into the night. Only when the sounds had been gone for minutes, did Nick crawl from his hiding spot behind the garbage cans, his tail dragging across the ground behind him._

_It took him nearly twice as long to get home as it had taken to get to the pack meeting, as his previously merry sprint was now replaced by a sullen trudging and dragging of feet and tail. The dark streets and racket from surrounding apartments did nothing to lower her trepidation, as in the shadows of nearby buildings, or of shrubs and trees dotting the sidewalks he imagined the kits from his meeting waiting to muzzle him yet again._

_Finally making it home, he closed the door behind him, relief flooding his mind as he flipped the lock. He couldn’t let his mother know what had happened. Nick knew that she was so excited as he left for the meeting, almost as much as she had been, and would be up waiting for him to return to tell her all about her first meeting being part of a pack._

_“Mom, I’m home!” he shouted, trying to be cheerful yet his voice fell somewhat flat. Expecting his mother to appear from around the corner of the living room at any second, he readied his most fake smile he could, hoping it would convince his mother that he enjoyed his first pack meeting. The thought of lying to his mother ripped at his heart, but she had spent so much to make him happy, that to try and make her happy was the least he could do._

_It surprised him however, when his mother didn’t reply to his greeting. More so, his surprise was heightened when not a sound came from anywhere in the apartment._

_“Mom? Are you home?” Nick’s cautiously spoke into the darkened hall, padding past several pictures of his mother, father, and himself smiling down at him from the walls. Poking his head into the living room, he didn’t see his mother sitting in her regular chair in front of the television and when he poked his head into the kitchen, he didn’t spot the vixen in there either._

_“Mom? Are you here?” Nick cried into the darkness, fear starting to creep back into his heart and mind. He was hoping that the the calming influence of his mother would assuage the pain of the evening, maybe he could even convince her to brush his tail for him?_

_Walking slowly up the stairs, he continued calling for his mother until he reached her closed door. It was a door that he wasn’t allowed in, but with his fear flooding more and more of his heart, he wanted to know where his mother was._

_“Mama?” Nick asked, pulling open the door and popping his head within. He felt his heart warm when he saw her with his back to him, sitting on her bed. He began running towards her, pausing at the foot of her bed when he saw the item in her paw._

_His heart sank, ears fell and tail curled around his feet at what he saw. His mother turned to see him, and at that moment he saw twin lines of tears running down her face, dripping onto the item in her paws._

_The muzzle that had been forcibly placed upon him at the meeting._

_“Nick?” His mother’s soft voice broke his gaze upon the horrible device, and his eyes raised to meet her own. “What happened tonight?”_

_The young fox sniffed, once, then fell into his mother’s arms, weeping openly as she dropped the muzzle from her paws and wrapped her arms around her son instead._

_“I want you to know Nicholas,” his mother cooed, brushing his ears enderly as her kit cried into her chest. “Never let them see that they get to you. It only goads them on, so just… don't pay attention to them, understand my wonderful child?”_

_Nick nodded, yet still continued to cry in his mother’s arms._

_“Do you remember what I said?” she stated calmly, her voice soothing her child. The young fox kit nodded, and repeated back the phrase that unknowingly would be the foundation for the next 20 years of his life…_

“ _Never let them_ _see_ that they get to you,” Nick stated calmly, eyeing the crying bunny in his arms. Nick sighed heavily, noticing the tears trickling down Judy’s face, and, lifting his paw, he tenderly traced the line of tears with his finger, wiping them away from her grey fur which shone as brightly as silver in the moonlight.

“It only became worse after that,” he continued. “After I told mother what happened, the next day she went to the scout hall to confront the scouts and their parents about what their kids had done to her son.”

Nick explained how he had opted to stay home, fearfully waiting for his mother’s return. It was barely an hour later that she returned, and Nick knew something was wrong. Her smile wasn’t as full as it normally was and her tail was dragging behind her, though the kit noticed as soon as she saw her son, it lifted from the ground.

“I asked her what happened,” Nick laughed, wiping away a tear of his own. “She said nothing was the matter, and then uttered that same phrase that she told me to always remember. ‘ _Nick,’_ she said, ‘ _no matter what happens to you in your life, no matter what any mammal does to you...never let them see that they get to you.”_

Judy watched as Nick bowed his head, his tears dripping freely onto his shirt. Before she knew it, the doe had closed the distance between them and had her paws clasped around his waist in the warmest hug she could give through her own tears. She felt Nick’s paws wrap around her, pulling her even closer to himself.

“It was the best advice she could give, as things only got worse from there. I learned later that my mother tried to get the scouts to apologize for their behavior, and expected their parents to help in that goal. Instead, she was shocked to learn that the parents were even more spiteful and threatened to call the police on her if she wouldn’t stop harassing them and their children.”

Looking up into Nick’s green eyes as he blinked back tears, she noticed a scowl crossing his face. “It was that moment, that something broke inside me. The days following at school just kept getting worse and worse. The story of my muzzling spread, and soon I started finding them in my locker at school, stuffed in my backpack…”

The rabbit felt him shudder in her embrace, and could only imagine how painful the experience for her partner had been. “Nick, you...you don’t have to tell me if it hurts-”

She was surprised when she found her words silenced as Nick’s lips fell upon hers. Startled, her words died in her throat, her mind gone blank at the passion she felt Nick put into the kiss. With her brain being suddenly addled, she barely even registered when he pulled away, the fox now cupping her cheek with his paw.

“I _do_ have to tell you, Judy. I _want_ to tell you.” He leaned down and kissed her again, before whispering against her lips. “You need to know everything about me, so you know what you are getting into.”

Again the fox sighed, his chest rattling against the rabbit laying atop it. “I...one day I just couldn’t take it anymore and when at school, the muskrat who muzzled me was taunting me and…”

Nick drew silent, and after nearly a minute without his voice, Judy looked up, only to offer a hushed gasp, as she saw long streaks of tears matting her partner’s cheeks.

“Oh _Nick…”_

The fox shook his head as she cupped his cheek, leaning her own head against his own.

“Hey, there...hey. It will be okay,” Judy soothed, rubbing her cheek against his own, knowing that the move would bring him some amount of comfort. “It’s alright. I’m here Nick.”

“I slashed him Judy…” Nick sobbed, causing Judy to flinch only slightly from the shock of his statement. She hoped that Nick wouldn’t notice, but with how much his body was shaking from his sorry filled whines of anguish, she doubted he might not even feel her own paw stroking his chest, or her marking his cheek. “Judy...I attacked him, and the only reason I stopped was because a teacher pulled me off.”

“It isn’t your fault, Nick,” the rabbit soothed. “You were a _child_ …”

“It doesn’t matter, Carrots,” Nick winced, almost visibly shaking. “I _attacked_ him. I...I let him get to me and…”

Judy heard the most sorrowful whine ever to come from her friend, as if he was physically pained by the memories. The sound was low and throaty, yet so horribly weak that she desperately wanted to comfort him and make his world secure..

“Mother’s heart broke that day,” the fox spoke as he wept. “Her eyes...she was so hurt by my actions. I couldn’t see her like that so I began trying to avoid her so she wouldn’t have to be ashamed of her son. Her kit who couldn’t even keep his claws to himself, when she had faced so much worse without harming a mouse.”

Judy’s curiosity go the better of her, and before Nick could continue, she interrupted. “Is that when you started hustling?”

Slowly, Nick nodded, clutching the rabbit closer to his chest. “It was. I did it so I wouldn’t have to face her and that led to me falling into some bad crowds. After the attack, I was placed in a different school, where I just didn’t want to get along with anyone. I didn’t want to make friends in case they became like the scouts.”

As Nick continued describing his troubles at his new school, Judy couldn’t help but feel her heart breaking for her fox. She had known about the terrible incident with the scouts, but had no _idea_ how much more he had been repressing for all those years, how that had just been the beginnings of his troubles. Then to learn that he had attacked another student, the very bully who had muzzled him and had begun all of his troubles?

No wonder why the incident tonight with Gideon had affected him so much, and why he had been so silent for most of the evening. She knew Nick wasn’t prone to violence. If she had learned anything out of being his partner on the force, he’d spin his silver tongue until he was blue in his face before even _thinking_ of pulling his taser, excepting extremely dangerous situations where his life, or _especially_ her life, she noted, was on the line.

_And all because of kits acting like savages instead of mammals..._ Judy thought morosely.

“I lasted almost a year there before being kicked out,” Nick stated as Judy looked back up into his eyes. “Then I was just bounced from school to school until I finally just gave up. I managed to get my diploma, but only by hustling my teachers for the grades, telling them that unless they wanted to deal with a shifty fox for another year, they’d just allow me to graduate so I could be out of their fur.”

“You’re not the only one whose school wanted them gone,” Judy quipped, watching for Nick’s reaction carefully. The fox’s ears perked up, and his tail shifted behind him.

“What do you mean?” Nick stated carefully, his eyes flickering from the stars above to his rabbit next to him.

“Well,” Judy laughed softly, brushing her ear back with her free paw. “Wanting to be a police officer as a bunny made most mammals, including my teachers and principals, wonder if I was right in the head. I had to visit the school’s counselors and psychologist, at the principal's requests, so often that my parents invited both of them over for family dinners and holidays. That tradition, and the school therapy sessions ended after Mr Buckston said mother’s carrot casserole tasted like bad kale.”

Judy _felt_ more than heard the laughter that came from Nick. No noise escaped his lips, but his chest was rumbling and shaking as he tried to contain his deep throated laugh. A great weight relieved itself from her chest as for the first time that she’d come to the hilltop, she saw a smile grace her partner’s face. And with the moonlight causing his emerald eyes to sparkle and his fur to glisten lightly…

It was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.

She continued, wanting to see and hear more from her fox. “It’s true!” she declared, waving her paw in front of her like she was banishing some evil spirit. “Mr Trunburrow had the black leather sofa for me to sit on, a notepad, and large rimmed glasses and everything during our ‘sessions’. He asked me so many dumb questions about wanting to be a police officer and the delusions I was experiencing that I wanted to bop him on the head with his own clipboard!”

Nick was full on laughing now, imagining what little Judy must have looked like, sitting in an overly plush sofa with a bunny asking her the normal psychologist questions he had heard oh so often on tv and sitcoms.

“Well, knowing you, Carrots, you probably did do just that.” He leaned in just a fraction, so that his muzzle was inches from her own, as Nick continued to speak in a faux accent that actually made him sound like her old psychologist. “Let me guess at what happened...naive little psychologist bunny told you that you couldn’t become a police officer in Zootopia, only to find that, whoopsie, the indomitable Judy Hopps doesn’t take no for an answer? And telling her she is a crazy little bunny makes that a double whoopsie, as it only makes her hopping mad? Enough so to kick you into next week?”

Judy was laughing so hard that Nick stopped before reaching his third point, the weight in his heart melting at the melodic sound from the rabbit. It was a sound he wished he could hear for eternity. All worries and fears from earlier dissipated and for the first time that evening, he felt joy again.

As her laughter died down, Judy rubbed at her eyes, wiping away a few tears and so distracted by her own thoughts that she barely heard the four words that Nick whispered, the sound almost inaudible above his breath and the rustling of leaves in the cool breeze above them.

_“I love you Judy.”_

She turned her head to face him, smiling at the sight of Nick returning her gaze.

“Thank you for tonight, Judy,” Nick stated, cupping her cheek in his paw. “I’ve been afraid of sharing that with anyone for so long that I was beginning to feel like I couldn’t ever be totally open with anyone ever again. I only shared it with your parents to show them that I have changed from what I had been. I told them about my old life as a hustler, and that because of you, I never want to go back to that life. I only want to be with you, my sly bunny...always.”

Judy felt that words couldn’t contain the joy at hearing what Nick had stated. Fresh tears threatened to issue forth, but she didn’t care as she jumped onto her fox’s chest, pushing him back onto the ground as her lips crashed into his.

Finally moving out of the kiss, she smiled at him, eyes sparkling. “You know that my mother told me tonight that if I needed a wedding dress, I could go to one of my neighbors, right?”

“She did, did she?” Nick stated with amusement as he leaned in again to nuzzle against her neck, breathing in her scent. “I wonder where she got _that_ idea from?”

“Certainly not from a dumb fox like yourself?” Judy quipped, arching an eyebrow.

Nick smirked, “I _may_ have mentioned something to them about how I loved you.”

Judy grinned, “And you _do_ know that I am _seriously_ thinking of taking her up on that offer, right?”

“You are, are you Carrots?” Nick laughed, brushing her ears back as Judy leaned in to whisper into his ear.

“Just say those five words dumb fox, and I’m yours…” she whispered, “Always...”

“Judy…” Nick breathed, his breath catching in his throat. Emerald eyes captured amethyst ones as both stared longingly at each other. He knew which words she meant, as they had been running through his mind ever since he decided he’d open up to her partner. “Will yo…”

“Am I, interrupting something?”

Both fox and rabbit glanced behind them and noticed Jessica standing nearby, a flashlight in her paw and a grin on her face that was so smarmy that even Nick had to admit that it bested his smirk on _most_ of his off days.

Judy felt her ears heat up to obnoxious levels as she grabbed them with both both paws and used them to cover her cheeks.

“Oh sweet cheese and crackers, Jessica!” she growled while attempting to push herself off of Nick, though with her paws holding her ears, all she managed was to fall backward over his lap with a loud ‘eep’, her feet barely visible from behind her fox.

“And just like that, the moment’s gone,” Nick muttered sourly. He and Judy would have to re-visit those five words at another time Nick thought, as he helped Judy to her feet…

_I’m planning on it..._


	29. Insightful Conversations

The streets in this corner of the city were always dimly lit, not for lack of streetlamps, as they were just as plentiful as in any other part of town, but due mostly to being broken by rocks thrown at them by the neighborhood's more unruly residents. The mammal currently walking down the street didn't mind the darkness, as it greatly helped to keep him hidden, not that the black hoodie wasn't already doing a bang up job of that.

He felt familiar in this neighborhood, which built a quiet confidence inside of him as he walked down paths he could have walked blindfolded. Though tonight, that confident air was replaced by a feeling of unease. His usual arrogant gait now became more halted and unnerved, as he would frequently pause at the slightest of noises, or sprint into a darkened and grimy alleyway at the sound of a car passing by.

Happytown wasn't the best of places to be out and about at night, or even during the day for that matter, and  _especially_  when you were now one of the most wanted mammals in Zootopia.

Looking both ways out of habit, even though a car wasn't anywhere near him, the figure trotted across the street towards a slightly decrepit looking building with a blinking neon sign which read "Donna's Diner". The facade of the building was a crumbling brick, held up more by the multiple layers of paint splotched across the front of it than anything else. The flickering neon buzzed like angry hornets, giving the dive an even more desperate appearance from the outside and, if he was a good judge of anything, the inside was probably worse.

During the frantic drive back into town, he had received a phone call telling him to meet at the diner at 11pm. Not one to keep his boss waiting, he was making sure to arrive early. He knew he was lucky to have made it at all, if the radio reports gave any indication of how hard it would be for him to live in the city after the debacle earlier in the day. Police cars and ZBI vehicles had been tearing down the highway in the opposite direction he was heading, all towards Bunnyburrow and the chaotic scene he was doing his best to flee as quickly as possible, though trying his best to follow the speed limit just in case one of the officers decided to get a little ticket happy.

Pulling his phone from the pocket of his hoodie, he sniffed several times as he noticed the time, glowering as he realized he was only two minutes early for the meeting, meaning his boss was probably inside.

"And most likely more insufferable than usual," the zebra grumbled as a splotch of liquid dripped onto the screen of his phone, the gentle light turning the pinprick of liquid a bright crimson. The zebra wiped at his nose, sniffling back the rest of the congestion inside, annoyed at how his bloody nose had most probably begun running again.

"Stupid cute, rabbit," he grumbled, pausing in his musings as a far away siren began to wail, momentary nervousness setting in, before he realized the sound was slowly moving away from him, rather than towards his location. His thoughts went back to earlier in the day as he approached the diner, growing angrier and bitter scowl deepening at the thought of how those two pathetic excuses for police officers had managed to even land a blow on him, let alone make him out as a complete fool.

"Too bad that fox couldn't have killed them and just gotten this whole thing over with. Why can't the boss just plan something simple instead of all this complicated scat."

The zebra snorted in disgust as he approached the diner, his mind noting the greasy pawprints covering the lower half of most windows, and several cracked panes of glass in others. He was surprised that his boss would even  _want_  to meet in a place like this, considering how ritzy the mammal's home and office were, but the choice of where to meet wasn't up to him and he was just there to take orders, not deliver them. At least the presence of a few customers inside the joint meant that his boss probably wouldn't chew him out like the last time he had failed. Though with how badly he had mucked up this operation, it was more than certain the little rodent's vocabulary would be quite  _flowery_  tonight. Bracing himself for the conversation to come, he pulled the hoodie further over his head, satisfied that hopefully nobody would pay attention to him, let alone recognize him, as he entered the cafe.

The ringing of a bell inside told the half asleep waitress that yet another customer had arrived. The mule had a bored expression on her face as she lazily turned to face the newcomer . "Welcome to Donna's, take a seat wherever you want, kid, don't care where" she droned mechanically, her tone just as expressionless as her face.

The zebra suppressed a remark on the quality of the service as the mule went back to guzzling from a nearby thermos, while her hoof waved in several circles, as if asking him to select a seat quickly. Searching for only a moment, he finally found who he was looking for, sitting in a far corner stall, glaring at him while griping a coffee cup in one paw.

"Well ain't this going to be peachy," he grumbled, already feeling the anger from his boss's glare deepening with every step he took towards the other mammal. By the time he reached the table, he noticed that his boss had actually had to set his mug down, as his paw was shaking so terribly from his barely restrained anger that several drops of the steamy liquid had spilt onto the table.

The equid trudged over to the booth and eyed the bench with disgust, noticing all the holes and tears in the fabric, but quickly sitting across from the other mammal, doing his best to ignore the steely gaze that never left the rodent's eyes.

"So…" the zebra drawled, as the tiny eyes bored into him. "Who talks first. You talk first, I talk first?"

"For the love of squash, shut up Harold."

"Guess that means you talk first," the zebra groaned, hiding a snicker as the figure across from him slammed his fist into the table. Even with the rodent's small size, the mug of coffee visibly jumped, splattering more of the liquid onto the heavily stained table. It was an impressive feat…

...for a muskrat.

"Need I remind your worthless hide what the stakes were today," the muskrat hissed, "and how badly I needed you to do such a simple task? Do you even remember what the two things you were supposed to do were?"

"Of course," the zebra snorted. "I may work security, but I ain't dumb, Steven." He grabbed the cup of coffee across the table in his hooves and brought it quickly to his snout, downing the drink in one guzzle before slamming it back onto the table to an angry huff from his boss. "You wanted that son of a birch fox shot and to leave no trace behind, just like we were taught in the Junior Ranger Scouts."

"And what happened?"

Just as the zebra was about to reply, the other mammal again slammed his paw on the table. "You couldn't even hit your target when he was just mere feet in front of you, and left so many traces behind that it could fill the entire evidence locker of the zpd and then some!"

"Could have been better, could have been worse," the zebra replied nonchalantly, sitting back into the uncomfortable and sticky cushioning.

"Are you  _serious_  right now? I've already had the ZPD crawling about my lab, and if you hadn't torched that van and all the evidence in there, we'd  _both_  be doing time right now."

"Well than at least you can thank me for that," the zebra shot back coldly. "I could have just left you hanging and disappeared into the night for good. No fur off my haunches."

"You forget something…" the muskrat leered, his voice low and forceful. "You  _owe_  me. And with how much you do, I basically own you."

"And here I was, thinking we were friends."

"Just consider the fact that I saved you from dying in a gutter in poverty due to your arrogance years ago…"

"Don't go bringing that up again," the zebra interjected, pointing a hoof at the muskrat. "I know I owe you for that, and for every day since. I just don't like it how I have to make all the sacrifices for this operation."

The muskrat leaned back in his seat, a smug expression flickering across his features. "I thought you said you could handle the fox and rabbit."

The sudden chill between the two mammals was not lost on the muskrat, as even under the hood, he could tell his companion's eyes had darkened considerably.

"I can handle  _any_  mammal," the zebra said slowly, pointing his hoof at the table, drilling the tip into the worn wood and plastic. "I had him. I had that little scat in my sights, and the only thing that messed that up was that filthy bunny mucking up my shot."

" _That's_  why I gave you extra pellets this time, Harold," the muskrat leered. "In case you somehow fouled up another perfectly designed plan. Distract the rabbit, shoot the fox, let him do the rest."

"Well it seems like that rabbit has a lucky foot or two," Harold stated, glaring at his boss. He wasn't wanting to push the rodent too far, as the only reason he even had a job, or a life, at this point was because of the smaller mammal. "And why do we have to follow such an elaborate plan to get back at Nicholas Wilde when smashing him with a car would be so much easier?"

"I don't want to see him physically crushed," the rodent growled. "For what he did to me, and for the hope he is giving his kind, he needs to be emotionally destroyed to push him back to where he belongs, in the…

The smaller mammal halted when the clip-clopping of hooves reached his ears. Looking up, he saw the mule waitress from earlier advancing towards them, staring at them with annoyance. "So, what will you two  _gents_  be having tonight."

"Just more coffee would be nice," the muskrat replied, in a much kinder tone than Harold's, even going so far as to offer a fake smile at the mule. Raising the mug, he just as quickly set it down, eyeing the brown coffee stain inside of the cup as the waitress scratched his order onto her paper, and wondered how long it had been there.

"Are you here for business or pleasure this time, Steven?" the mule asked.

"Pleasure," the zebra snorted with a grin. The mule frowned, then turned to the muskrat.

"Bless you for coming out in public with him. He's an absolute riot" the mule stated in a flat voice.

She turned to the zebra, "Anything for you tonight?"

"About time you got here," muttered the zebra. "Did you get lost on the way over or are you just that slow?

The mule turned to look at the zebra, whose stomach growled at just that moment. "And I thought I was the wise-ass in the house tonight," she snorted at him. "So, are you tonight's entertainment or something? I've seen better stallions in a nursing home, so either order or get out."

"You ain't no spring filly, either."

The mule just glared at him, clicking her ballpoint pen ominously, as if daring the zebra to say another word.

"Fine," Harold growled, not even bothering to pick up the menu sitting at the edge of the table. "Just get me the biggest salad you got," he said, not caring to look at her. "Don't care what it is."

"I thank you for having me order for you then," the waitress drawled, before scratching something down on the pad of paper she gripped tightly in her hoof. "Your food will be here  _sometime_. Don't really know when, as the chef goes on his break soon," she stated before walking off, not even offering any drinks to the pair.

"What do you mean 'sometime'?" the zebra shouted after her, eyes following her with dangerous intent. The mule didn't even look behind her as she shrugged her shoulders and made her way back to the barstool she had been sitting on when he had arrived.

"And you chose this place,  _because_?" the zebra asked, turning back to face his boss who was idly staring at his empty cup, before fixing his glare upon his companion.

"Because nobody ever comes here, so we can talk about how you are royally messing up my plan to get back at that  _idiot_ fox. You've wasted  _several_  opportunities to get him now, and..."

"And none of them have worked out," Harold interrupted, glaring icily at the muskrat. "Yeah, yeah, I know, so just can it already." The zebra glared at the smaller mammal, whose indignant expression was returned wholeheartedly. "Look Steven, I ain't one to tell you how to do your job, especially since the only reason I have this gig is because of you. However..."

"Then don't even try," Steven hissed before closing his eyes and rubbing his forehead, sighing heavily. "Here's the deal Harold," the muskrat started, voice now quieter and with a lot less anger in it. "I brought you on for this job because we both have a... _history_  with this fox, and you have a certain set of skills to deal with him." The zebra snorted. Steven knew that under the hoodie, the striped mammal was rolling his eyes. He pressed on regardless. "It was supposed to be simple. Just scare him out of the force and  _remind_  him where foxes like him are supposed to be - on the streets or in the gutters.  _That_  was the original plan. Killing Dr Shepherd, one of my best scientists, was  _not_  a part of that."

The muskrat allowed his words to sink in, and when the zebra didn't try to refute him, he continued, knowing that he had to suppress the contemptuous smirk which threatened to overtake his face.

"So that begs the question, Harold. Why  _did_ you have to go and get us both involved in  _murder_ , rather than just sniping that fox with the nighthowler from my lab like you were supposed to? There is a reason why I made you my head of security... _isn't there_? And it wasn't for your glowing personality."

The zebra shrugged, folding his hooves across his chest. "You did that because I'm the best at what I do, and when you told me to make sure everything I did couldn't be traced, well, I did just that." The zebra leaned across the table, pointing one hoof at the other mammal. "I deleted the security footage from the lab when I took the serum, I falsified the lab data like you asked me to, and I put the jammer on the van so that it would block the signals from the traffic cameras so I couldn't be traced back to Furzer."

"And yet here we are," Steven replied, violently throwing his paws in the air, "talking about how to get away with not one, but  _three_  murders, because you junked up an otherwise foolproof plan."

"How was I supposed to know the sheep would be in the lab that night?!" Harold shot back, growing angrier by the second and pushing forward on the table, causing it to shudder. "How was I  _supposed_  to know he would follow me when I left the lab, hmm?"

"You could have just checked the security cameras!" the muskrat's voice raising with each word. "He was my  _best_  scientist!"

"He was a liability," the equid stated cooly, settling back into his chair once more.

Steven paused, shocked at just how calmly his friend was shaking off the knowledge that he had  _murdered_  innocent mammals. A shiver went down his spine at the realization that maybe Harold was a little  _too_  cold hearted for this job, though at this point, he was in way too deep to change things. If he did, maybe Harold Herdtrotter might see  _him_  as a liability as well. Given the display of indifference to the deaths of others that he had just witness, the thought turned his stomach.

"And that hare and fox in Tundratown?" he demanded.

The zebra shrugged again. "Those two cops didn't get the message after their first go-around with Shepherd. They needed another push."

Steven's jaw dropped. "Are you serious?" he exclaimed, slightly louder than he intended, as his outburst turned a few heads, though after he sent a glare towards the others at the diner, they quickly went back to their own meals. As soon as all the mammals were back to their meals, he turned back to face his friend. "So you killed that hare and fox, just because you thought it would push those two off the case?"

"That's how regulations in the force are supposed to work. If a case becomes too personal, the officers involved have to give it over to other cops. At least that is what is supposed to happen," Harold nodded, looking towards the kitchen area of the diner as he cupped a paw around his muzzle. "Hey, when's my food going to get here, lady?"

The mule looked up from her phone and snorted. "The more you holler, ya moron, the longer it will be."

Snorting impatiently, the zebra went back to staring at his boss. "You forget that I was in TUSK before you took me in. I guess you think I don't remember regulations or something? I was kicked out for beating a nip dealer, not for forgetting the codes."

"Then enlighten me to your oh-so-brilliant plan," the muskrat drawled, wishing his partner had waited until after he got a refill on his coffee to tick off the waitress.

"Look, when a case gets too close to a cop, then the cop has to quit it. That's it. No hubbub about it, no second guessing, just  _boom_ , they're done with it." The satisfied smile on the zebra's face turned quickly to a frown. "Apparently the  _current_  Chief seems to have thought he could skirt the reg's in this case. Unless the rest of the ZPD are just too dumb to find their own tails, let alone solve a murder so he had to keep that rabbit and fox on it."

"You really think you can outsmart the entire ZPD, especially with those two on our tails?" Steven said incredulously, shaking his head.

"Are you underestimating my abilities?"

"Of course not," Steven spat out quickly, not wanting to anger his friend. He was quickly learning that the zebra was someone he wanted to put some distance between and sooner rather than later. "As long as you managed to get all the evidence wiped so that we can't be traced, then everything is good for now, though I still wouldn't mind those two cops out of the picture. Not  _killed._..just, out of the picture." the rodent quickly added.

A shaky silence fell between the two mammals, one that seemed to only create more tension than it dissolved. The atmosphere was stagnant as neither really had anything to add to the conversation for the moment.

"You took care of the van?" Steven finally asked.

Harold nodded. "It, and all the vehicles around it are gone, so they can't trace it back to us."

"And evidence at the festival? I've seen your muzzle all over the news. Again, something I told you not to do."

"Didn't leave anything that could tie me directly to it and you know that. What do they know? They know they are looking for a zebra, but we're a dime a dozen in Zootopia. No way the cops can figure out it was me."

Steven muttered something under his breath and looked carefully at his friend's face. "I want you to go into hiding. Stay low for a bit."

The striped mammal nodded.

"No risks," Steven stressed.

Harold simply glanced at his hooves. "And the cops? How will we deal with them?"

The muskrat gritted his teeth angrily. So far, everything he had done to ruin that fox's life had seemed to fail. Sure, it had seemed as though the mutt had learned his lesson from long ago, that a fox belonged in a muzzle, but at some point he must have changed, and Steven had a distinct impression that the bunny he was working with had something to do with it. There had to be a way to get him off the force and back where he was supposed to be…

" _Maybe_  I can pay a few of them off, pull a few strings to see if I can nudge a few of the mammals in Internal Affairs to investigate Wilde and drop him for good. He needs some shaming to sidetrack him and that rabbit, and maybe a public investigation could do that. If we're lucky, we might even get the rabbit off the force as well. I've heard things, and all we need is a rumor to start a firestorm that could torch her career as well. Get them both off our trail."

"And how much will that cost to pay off the IA goons?" the zebra huffed. "Ten million, twenty million? They don't come cheap, I know that from experience."

"It's not about money," Steven scoffed. "It's about sending a message. We are going to tell that pelt that he isn't anything more than a shifty, untrustworthy fox that doesn't deserve anything society gives him other than scorn. I'm sure I can find some IA mammals who agree with me on that. In fact, I have a few in mind..."

Their conversation paused again as the waitress dropped off a plate of salad, filled with tomatoes, cucumbers and an assortment of other veggies, as well as what appeared like several fried crickets.

"What is this?" the zebra muttered angrily, prodding the insects with his hoof and wrinkling his snout in disgust.

"It's the largest salad we have, hon - the Predator's Delight. Isn't that what you asked for?"

"I didn't order this!"

"That's right," she nodded cheekily. " _You_  didn't  _order_  anything. Just told me to get you the biggest salad we had. Ain't my fault that you're picky."

The mule trotted off, leaving a scowling zebra in her wake.

A tepid silence settled upon them, with the zebra taking several bites of the salad placed before him, when a commotion from the other end of the restaurant caught their attention.

_"Hey, turn that up! I want to see that!"_

Both mammals turned towards the sound, noticing a puma pointing at an old, boxy television hanging from the wall. The channel was on ZNN, and an antelope was reporting something indecipherable with how low the volume currently was.

It became a lot more evident when a picture of a certain fox and bunny in police uniforms appeared on screen, and as the sound was finally turned up by the waitress, the message became clear as well.

"...the heroic efforts of ZPD officers Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde prevented what could have become a mass bloodbath, as when at the annual Bunnyburrow Blueberry festival, they prevented a mammal darted with night howler from attacking the festival."

The screen shifted to a family of rabbits, all looking somewhat nervous, with their paws holding each other around their shoulders.

"We saw it happen! That fox went savage and it was just an instantaneous reaction from those officers which saved us. They just hopped right in and distracted him so we could get away."

The screen changed again, this time showing a beaver speaking into the microphone. "They were chasing this zebra, and all of a sudden, blam!" The beaver began making punching and kicking motions with his paws. "They were just taking that mammal  _down_ , when the zebra pulled out something and wham, the other fox behind the two cops just went nutso. Never been so scared in my life, but I'm so glad they were there to protect us."

After the beaver's comments, the screen flicked back to the antelope. "According to eyewitnesses, a zebra, whom the heroic officers had been chasing, was the one who caused a local citizen whose name is currently being withheld, is behind the attack and is currently at large."

A grainy video inserted itself on the screen, showing a zebra facing off against a rabbit and bunny. Screams could be heard in the background and the camera was visibly shaking, stopping as it zoomed in on the zebra's face.

The antelope reappeared. "If you have any information leading to the capture and detaining of this dangerous criminal, please call the ZPD's hotline..."

Both mammals turned to look at each other, every single word from the broadcast replaying in their minds. The muskrat's expression hardened, and he finally spoke after nearly a minute of silence.

"You're done. I don't want you doing anything else except going into hiding."

"But boss..." the Harold muttered, only to be cut off again by a raised paw.

"No, you're done. With that kind of publicity, you need to go into hiding,  _now_. I'll figure out some way to cover this scatfest you've created. Just," he paused, sighing heavily before covering his eyes with his paws, "get out of my sight and lay low until I can get the IA guys on our side."

The zebra muttered something under his breath that the rodent couldn't catch, before reaching into his pocket to pay for the uneaten meal. Steven heard the zebra curse, and looked up to see the mammal digging through all the pockets of his clothing; his jacket, pants, all of them.

"Forget your wallet or something?" Steven asked. The zebra scowled at him.

"You're covering this," he stated, before pushing himself from the table, leaning in one last time. "And for benching me, you better add an extra ten grand into my account, got it?" The muskrat stared at the zebra, who smiled and trotted out of the restaurant, making sure to raise his hoof in an obscene gesture to the waitress as he left.

When the chime over the door announced the departure of his associate, the muskrat finally let out a heavy sigh, then smashed his paw against the table. This was  _not_  how any of this was supposed to go. All that was supposed to happen was for that fox to get yet another life lesson about his true worthlessness, and yet not only had the  _opposite_ happened, but now the whole city was calling him a hero, along with that bunny officer serving with him.

"Those worthless little cretins," the muskrat whispered, downing the last of his coffee before placing a few folded bills onto the table. He jumped down from the oversized seat, wishing that they at least had stairs for him to use to reach the table, and began walking towards the door, turning things over in his mind.

He needed a plan to keep them off of his tail. There was bound to be evidence linking Harold to the crimes in Bunnyburrow, and with how many close calls he had so far with those two officers, Steven knew that it was only a matter of  _when_ , not  _if_ , his associate would be found and arrested. Bribing the IA folks might buy him a bit of time and could even ensure some public demonstrations against the fox, but he needed something to  _keep_  the pair off his trail forever.

Reaching the door, he waved to the waitress, who didn't even notice the gesture before he left the diner. Steven Furzer hadn't clawed his way up from living in squalor in Happytown to becoming one of the richest mammals in Zootopia by chance. It was his intellect and drive which pushed him to those heights and power, along with the theft of some intellectual properties that had made him millions, all while going unnoticed.

And now? He'd use that power and privilege to finally muzzle that upstart fox once and for all, as well as getting rid of that pesky rabbit officer, both in one fell swoop. All he needed now, was a plan.

* * *

The car pulled into the driveway of a residence in the Meadowlands. Steven turned off the engine and waited nearly a minute while he composed himself. Gripping the steering wheel tight enough to make his knuckles hurt, he began taking deep, long breaths.

_Keep it together...you can get out of this. You've gotten out of worse._

_Like hell you have_ , his mind retorted. He had spent the past 20 years pulling himself together, all for that worthless fox to mess everything up now. Though not all the blame could be lumped onto the fox cop, as Harold held a massive amount of blame for his current stress levels.

"He had one job to do…" the muskrat griped, before getting out of his car, slamming the door behind him. The deep breaths weren't helping his mood at all, and he just steadied himself for the lies he would have to tell his wife again when she would ask why he was out so late. Fumbling with his keys, he was surprised when the door burst open, light flooding his eyes as two tiny forms jumped onto him, latching themselves around his legs.

"Daddy! You're home!"

"Why so late Daddy? Did the business meeting take forever again?"

Steven smiled warmly at his two kids, ruffling their head fur gently to their amused giggles. "How have my girls been today, hmm?"

"We've been very good!" one replied, pulling away from her father's legs to look up at him. She fiddled with her lavender nightgown, swishing it from side to side as she spoke. "Michelle only stole two cookies from the cookie jar today."

"Did not!" the other sibling shouted, sticking her tongue out for added effect. "It was only one. You took the other one."

While his two kits quarreled, the older muskrat chuckled, his sour mood dissipating easily as his wife come into view. There was a smile on her face, but he could tell after 15 years of marriage that the smile only hid the anxiety she was feeling underneath.

"Hey Pamela, Michelle?" Steven stated, causing the two kits to stop their bickering and look up. "Isn't it past your bedtime?"

Pamela, the younger one pouted. "But Mommy said we could stay up to see you."

"She did, did she?" Steven asked, glancing at the female muskrat with a knowing smile.

"Uh huh," Michelle giggled.

"Well, now that I'm home, I think it is time you two got into bed."

Two loud 'awww's' filled the room as the young muskrat kits cast the largest, cutest eyes at their father.

"None of that girls," came a feminine laugh from the other mammal who stood in the open doorway, beckoning her family inside. "You two hurry onto bed now. We'll be in, in a minute, to tuck you in."

"Ok Mommy," both girls stated before running off to their rooms.

Steven laughed as his daughters' voices dimmed while they ran to their shared bedroom. The house they lived in had several extra bedrooms, so the two could have had their own, but had insisted that they wanted to share one. Even with the opulence he could afford to give his family, none of them really wanted it, so the house appeared rather frugal compared to the wealth amassed by the muskrat.

"To be young again," Steven smiled as his wife padded up to him, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"How was work tonight? Meeting run long?"

The male muskrat turned to his wife, noting the worry in her eyes. He sighed heavily. "It...went well, Martha." A lie. "As well as the meeting could have gone." And there was another one.

It was becoming easier and easier to lie to her these days, and from the look in her eyes, she was believing them less and less. Instead of meeting her gaze, his eyes fell upon a slice of chocolate cake on the counter, his fingers reaching for before she swatted them away, her eyes boring into his own.

"You were out with Harold again, weren't you?"

A flash of nervousness washed over his face, and he knew he was caught when his wife's brows furrowed. She moved away from her husband, crossing her paws against her chest. "You know I don't like him."

"I know that you don't like him, but…"

"Then why do you keep going out to meet him?" Martha interrupted, sending a poignant glare at her husband. "Ever since you started meeting with him late at night, you've been coming home angry."

"I'm not mad," Steven shot back, only to feel a bit sheepish when his wife gave him an 'oh really?' look at his curt response.

"Uh huh, I  _totally_ believe you, Steven."

Just as he was about to reply, she pushed a finger into his chest. "I know I've told you this before, but that zebra is a bad influence on you. He may be your head of security, and you  _may_  have been childhood friends, but you need to get rid of him and find someone new for that position. You don't need friends like him."

_If only it were that easy Martha..._ Steven wished. "I know, I'll…"

"Do something about it?" Martha inquired.

He nodded wearily.

"I will...soon."

"You'd better," Martha replied, walking back over to her husband and wrapping her arms around his neck. "You coming home like this, the kits can feel the tension in you. They're worried about you."

"They are?" the muskrat asked in surprise.

Martha nodded. "They are." She pressed her nose against his, giving him a small kiss before letting her arms lower to his chest.

"Oh," Martha blurted, her eyes lighting up as she moved away from her husband and to the kitchen table a room away. "One of your scientists called, a Doctor Coyotah."

"What did he want?" Steven asked, walking into the kitchen to join his wife, his curiosity piqued. The coyote usually kept to himself, so for him to suddenly call him at his home, must have meant it was important. He reached the kitchen just as his wife passed him the note.

"He mentioned something about making a breakthrough in some anti-toxin he was developing. Something about bunnies and wanting to talk to an Officer Hopps."

Steven flinched at the name, though luckily, his wife's back was towards him as she shuffled around the kitchen, tidying up little messes their kids had left behind. "Oh really?", was all he could muster.

He saw his wife's head bob up and down. "Said something about a fox officer as well, an Officer Wilde, I think? Said he'd wanted your permission to meet with both of them again." His wife turned to face him, her eyes sparkling as Steven quickly changed his frown to a grin. "Do you think they are the same officers who saved the city not so long ago?"

Steven nodded, secretly gritting his teeth. "I believe so," he muttered, his wife clasping her paws together at the news.

"Oh that is amazing that you know them!" she cooed. "Michelle and Pamela were talking about them all day today after they saw them on the news. They really want to meet them, so maybe, if you can of course, could you bring the girls with you in case those nice officers visit your work? It would make their  _year_  if you could do that for them, since you don't see them as often as they want you to."

Martha hadn't noticed Steven's composure considerably darken as she spoke, until, that is, the male's heavy tail began thwacking the ground.

"Or not," Martha muttered impatiently, noticing the moody silence which pervaded the room. "Whatever you decide, your kids would be able to at least spend some time with you in you took them in to see your work, or you can just  _continue_  spending your time with Harold. You can at least try to show them you care more about them, than work."

Martha walked out of the kitchen, and from her footsteps, Steven could hear her pad softly towards their daughters' room, pausing only once, he knew, to give his back what must have been a brooding glare. As soon as he heard the door close, the muskrat grabbed a glass from a nearby cabinet, paw trembling as he filled it from the sink.

_At least try to show them you care more about them, than work._

Barely halfway through the drink, the sentence stuck in his mind as he gazed at the glass in his paw. With a snarl, he threw the glass against the living room wall, the drink shattering upon impact with a mighty crash.

"So I don't' care about them then?" he muttered, hearing startled cries from his children's room as he made for the front door. Walking through it, he barely heard his wife shouting his name before he slammed it shut, muttering as he walked towards his car.

Starting the vehicle, Steven began driving back towards the building. His conversation with the zebra taking full control over his mind.

_He was a liability._

Steven floored the accelerator as he reached the highway, pushing the Camelro to the limit across the empty freeway while a plan for how to rid himself of all those involved in this scheme began forming in his mind. Gritting his teeth, he pulled into the Furzer lab parking lot only a few minutes later. Looking up at the magnificent structure, its lights penetrating the otherwise darkened sky, he muttered a single thought that had been forming in his mind on the way over. A plan on how to get rid of that come-uppity fox, dumb bunny and former friend.

"Guess it is going to have to be Harold's way after all."


	30. The Past Resurfacing

The pair glowered at Jessica, unable to take their gazes off the rabbit. Several moments passed before Judy coughed loudly into her paw.

"So, um, Jessica. What did you come up here for?"

"If not to ruin the mood," Nick added with a frown, placing his paw on Judy's back and helping her to her feet.

The other rabbit looked nervous for a moment, one ear bending, nose twitching as she stared at the couple. "Well, two officers showed up at the house asking for you, so Mom and Dad told me to find you two. They told me you had gone outside and I just knew this would be where you were."

"Must be Delgato and Fangmeyer," Judy stated, putting her paw out for Nick, helping the fox to stand as well.

"Probably should go down and rescue them from your folks," Nick chuckled, imagining what Judy's parents would think of a wolf and tiger suddenly showing up on their front porch at near one in the morning. "With how long it took your father to like foxes, I can't imagine what he's doing right now with a wolf and tiger at his door."

Judy rolled her eyes. "My father isn't  _that_  bad," she stated, grabbing her mug from the ground and draining its contents in one long gulp before gathering up the thermos and Nick's empty mug. The vulpine tried to hide a skeptical expression.

"I wouldn't go counting carrots before they grow, Judy," Jessica grinned. "As father was looking quite pale last I saw him and seemed to have a nervous twitch in his paw."

"I guess we should go then, eh Carrots?" Nick asked. In his own mind, he would have much rather let the two detectives wait. There wasn't anything that they could do at 1 AM, so letting them sit in what he was sure was an awkward silence with Bonnie and Stu wouldn't kill them. As the fox looked up into the night sky, seeing the brilliance of the many thousands of sparkling dots above him, he wouldn't have minded sitting out here with his bunny for the rest of the evening until they would both fall asleep in each other's arms. The sky as their blanket and the warm earth as their bed.

"Probably true," Judy replied, breaking Nick's hopes of spending the rest of the evening alone with the doe. "Want to help with the blanket?" Judy asked, throwing the object at the fox at the same time. Nick caught it, bunching it up in his arms to Judy's consternation.

"Really, Nick?" she asked him, giving the fox a knowing look.

"What did I do this time, Fluff?"

"Give me that blanket," Judy huffed, placing the thermos and mug on the ground. With the speed only Judy had, the rabbit quickly folded the blanket, presenting it back to the fox in under five seconds. " _That_  is how you fold a blanket."

"Oh, I know how Carrots," Nick replied with a mischievous grin as he went to grab the blanket. "I just love seeing that cu-"

Nick staggered on his feet as the soft throw was weaponized in Judy's paw, flapping with the wind and into the side of his face with a loud ' _whumph_ '. He looked down at Judy, who had a rather large grin on her face. "You were saying?"

Rubbing his jaw, Nick could only shake his head. He was beginning to think she enjoyed doing that a bit too much. "I was going to say cuddly, but…"

"For some reason I doubt that," Jessica added, shaking her head and tutting at the antics between her sister and the fox. "Oh, and Judy?"

"Yes?" the doe replied, turning to her twin.

"Mom and Dad also said they needed to talk to you for a moment, so I can grab those mugs if you'd want and you can just go on ahead. It seemed important." There was just the slightest inflection in her tone, which suggested that she meant what she said.

Judy nodded. "Alright." Throwing the blanket at Nick with a yell of ' _catch',_ Judy bounded off down the hill towards the warren. Nick watched her go, a smile on his muzzle as she darted off into the night. Picking up the mugs and thermos in one paw, and holding the blanket in the other, he was about to follow after her, when a paw on his chest stopped him. Looking down, he saw Jessica standing right in front of him, paw out, and an angry scowl on her face.

"Why did you try and ask my sister's paw in marriage just now?"

Nick's sense went on full alert, his tail bristling behind him and paws growing clammy.

"Well…" he stuttered, "I thought it was a good idea at the time. You know, the whole 'she loves me, I love her, let's see what happens' deal?"

Jessica shook her head. "Nicholas Wilde, you have  _a lot_  to learn about bunnies before you ever think of proposing to my sister again."

The fox just stood there, before giving the rabbit a halted smile. " _And…_?"

"And," Jessica began with a grin, advancing a step towards the fox. Nick gulped as she yanked down on his tie, his face now inches away from Jessica's. "I am going to teach you everything you need to know about courting my sister; her favorite foods, favorite movies, favorite spots to be,  _everything_ , so that by the time we're through..." she clipped her sentence as she pulled Nick even closer to her, causing the fox to nervously try and back away, which in turn only caused the rabbit's grin to widen. Letting go of Nick's tie, the fox staggered backwards. "So remember what I tell you, and Judy will be begging you to tie the knot."

Nick's jaw dropped and thoughts failed him as Jessica simply grinned and began walking away down the hill. When he finally found which muscles to use to allow him to speak, he raced after the rabbit. "Did you  _seriously_ just say that?"

Jessica just continued grinning. "Hey, Judy isn't the only Hopps' to have dated a fox before." As the doe continued down the hill, away from an astonished Nick, she yelled over her shoulder. "By the way, here's your first lesson. Judy's favorite flower,  _and_  snack, are clover blossoms and lupine. Remember that!"

At that Nick stopped, unable to even comprehend anything more complicated than breathing. Speaking was out of the question, and all rational thought had fled at the doe's comments.

_Such a crazy mind for such an innocent looking bunny..._

It was a good, full minute, before Nick was even able to think of anything, let alone give his thoughts utterance.

"What is it with this family and foxes?"

* * *

Moving with a purposeful stride, Nick made it down the hill quite a bit faster than the much more morose gait in which he had climbed it a few hours before. His conversation with Judy had been like lifting a weight off his shoulder and heart, freeing himself of that oppressive burden which made him feel years younger. His partner now knew why he was the fox she had first ran into outside that ice cream parlor years before, and hadn't judged him any less for it. She had simply listened and accepted him, baggage and all. There was no doubting her sincerity, as after as long as he had known the rabbit known as Judy Hopps, he believed there wasn't a single insincere bone in her body.

Relating his life story to both Judy, and her parents, was a huge step in his mind. He was hesitant to share it with her folks, before sharing it with her. However...as the situation had presented itself as enticingly as a fish and veggie kebab on a silver platter, he had taken the gambit and told them everything. It was the first of many steps on a long path that he was hoping to tread to the end, for at the end of that journey, the fox was certain a certain grey bunny would be awaiting him in white.

She'd already confessed as much, even if it was interrupted at the last moment. Yet he could wait. He'd waited three months for her before she found him under that bridge, replaying that recording of her again, and again on her carrot pen that he'd kept.

And if he needed to give her three months, or three days, or three years to get their relationship right - to court her the correct way, to show her the honor and respect she so deserved after the harshness Zootopia had dealt to her, and truly showcase his love for her - he'd go any distance to do that for Judy

And come hell or high water, that bunny was worth every second he spent with her, and it was all time well spent in his book.

Was it too cliche, or something too close to a fairy tale ending that he hoped for? Was it puppy love?

 _Well I am a fox_...Nick inwardly thought while outwardly chuckling.

He would hold onto the knowledge Judy's sister had given to him, and press for any more details he could, as discreetly as possible. For the moment though, he was happy to open up Zoogle on his phone, searching for florist shops that may sell lupine and clover blossoms.

He spotted several, but one in particular brought a grin to his face. Nick was certain the otter in charge wouldn't mind helping him out with a bouquet for his beautiful blushing bunny. Besides, it had been over a year since he had last seen Mr Otterton, when Judy and him had approached him about a case which involved fertilizer sold from his shop to a chief suspect. He doubted the otter would mind seeing an old friend, and besides, they had quite a lot of catching up to do.

Nick hummed to himself as he was quick to walk down the hill towards the warren. An idle thought came to mind, which normally the fox would push aside as they were want to get him into trouble whenever he had them. However, he gave room for this one, opening the door to the home of his mind and allowing it entrance, as well as residency for a time.

Heck, he even offered it its own room and house key to his mind as the thought began to grow and develop.

Whipping out his phone, he again typed in a series of words, grinning when thousands of pages popped up about "bunny marriage rituals".

"Apparently the rumors  _are_  true," Nick mused, smirking as he descended the rest of the hill.

* * *

Nick made it back to the warren only a few minutes after Judy, so the fox was quite astonished to find that the rabbit was still on the front porch. Adding to his surprise was that she was leaning against the doorway, snickering loudly at whatever was happening just indoors, with Jessica by her side, a paw over her face as she was yelling at someone, or  _someones._

It was hard to make it out at this distance, but he was certain he heard the term  _'get off them'_ and something about a tail and chew toys.

As he approached, even over the din of laughter from inside the home, Judy's ear pivoted towards him, hearing his soft steps crunching the gravel beneath his paws. Her head soon following her ears as she grinned at him, waving him over to the door while trying to suppress her laughter.

"Nick, do you have your phone with you? Mine's dead."

Nick's ear twitched as his head tilted slightly.

"What an odd request from such a funny bunny?" Nick quipped, though he quickly pulled his phone from his pocket, waving it before her. She reached for it, only for him to pull it back just as quickly. He eyed her, smirking as her grin lowered to a faux frown as she did her best to try and hide her annoyance at him.

 _Any second..._ Nick thought, as he quickly deleted his browsing history, closing out of the Zoogle to make sure Judy wouldn't find out what he was trying to look up for her. He kept his phone up to his muzzle, acting as if he was looking at some interesting post of Furbook or Pawwit.

_Almost there…_

Thump...thump...thump,  _thump, thump, THUMP, THUMP._

"And there it is," Nick said triumphantly, pointing down at Judy's foot which was moving a mile a minute. "As reliable as the sun rising in the morning," the fox grinned. "Or Finnick's naptime at 3:20pm each day. Whichever you prefer."

Judy huffed, a slight smile tugging at her lips before she snatched the phone from Nick's paw, muttering something about 'insufferable foxes'.

"Aww, Fluff, you know you love my foxy wit."

Rolling her eyes, Judy snapped a few pictures before handing the device back to him as he walked up behind her, gently setting his muzzle down between her ears. "Now, what's got my Carrots in a…"

Nick's joke died in his throat, replaced instead by the same insufferable grin that he knew Chief Bogo had grown to despise. He felt Judy's head move upwards towards him, and he looked down, in her direction, heart thumping fast as he felt a tiny kiss placed underneath his chin.

With his phone plucked from his pocket, Nick deftly held it back up.

"Oh, we're going to need a lot more pictures than that Carrots."

Just inside the waiting room of the Hopp's compound, was not just a pile of fluffy bunnies, but a whole  _mound_  of squirming, tiny rabbits all poking and prodding at two shapes underneath them.

"Oh, what sharp teeth he has," one bunny squeaked, pulling at something beneath the fuzzy pile.

"How do you think they fit through the door?"

"They are strange looking foxes."

"I think they're dolphins, maybe?"

"What's a dolphin? Do they have big teeth?"

"I think so...they have stripes don't they?"

The comments continued at a blistering pace, as finally Jessica walked towards the towering pile of fluff and fur.

"Ok guys, simmer down. Simmer down…"

Her voice was lost amid the chaos that the Kerfluffle could only create. Her shoulders sagging, Jessica walked towards the coat room next to the entryway, disappearing into it with a slight click of the door. Judy smirked, glancing up at Nick while giving him a gentle nudge.

"You may want to cover your ears," the rabbit whispered, cupping her paw around her mouth.

Nick gave her a confused look. "What for?"

"Or at least use these."

Judy just reached for a box next to the door, pulling out two sets of earmuffs from it, handing one over to Nick while placing the other set over her own ears. She was glad that they were still here after all these years, as what was about to happen was something that had become a common occurrence in the Hopps' warren. Sure it might have been fun to see Nick's reaction to what came next without the devices, however, she knew how sensitive his ears were, and didn't want to subject him to any more pain today.

"You'll see," she replied in a sing-song voice, folding her arms over her chest as a thudding sound came from the coat room. Nick placed the earmuffs gingerly over his ears, just in time as the thumping sounds were growing quite loud, even to the point where some of the smaller rabbits of the Kerfluffle began turning their heads towards the sound. A few began twitching, apparently knowing what was coming next, and one or two actually began bounding away from the rest of the group

With a resounding snap, the door swung open, and Nick couldn't help but let out a surprised yelp at what he saw, his paw reflexively reaching for where his taser would have been on his belt. A massive, hairy creature filled the doorway completely, growling terribly at the now frightened kits. It's dark brown fur was horribly disheveled, its eyes bright red and glowing, directed straight at the pile of now panicking kits. With how sunken in the eyes were, it gave the creature an even more horrible appearance. It took several shuffling steps forward, bent at the waist as its height prevented it from standing fully erect. It bellowed, which amusingly reminded Nick of a certain buffalo.

"I didn't know you crammed Bogo into your broom closet," Nick whispered to Judy as another roar came from the creature, startling several more kits off the other two officers. Judy jabbed her elbow into Nick's side, rolling her eyes while simply enjoying the spectacle in front of them. She hadn't seen Bigpaw in quite a while, so she was excited to enjoy the show, even if it would wake up half the warren.

The creature shouted, in what sounded to be only a much deeper version of Jessica's voice.

" _Which little kitten will Bigpaw gobble up first!"_

The kits all began moving at once, half screaming and half giggling as they ran out of the front room, back towards the bedrooms as 'Bigpaw' made to swipe at them. Even with the earmuffs, the noise from the tiny rabbits was quite loud, and made Nick wonder if it would have awakened anyone else in the home. As the bunnies fled, they revealed what was underneath them the entire time; Detectives Fangmeyer and Delgato, who were lying prostrate on the ground. Their eyes were wide open as they surveyed their surroundings, the tiger first patting down his uniform to see if anything was missing, while the wolf cautiously unraveled himself from his huddled position, opening his eyes only to stare straight up at 'Bigpaw'.

"He does exist!" Fangmeyer yelped, pushing himself back into the wall, patting down his side for his taser. Clutching the weapon in shivering paws, the wolf scooted back until he hit the wall, his taser wobbling in his grip.

Judy spotted the action and quickly intervened, waving her arms while running in between the wolf and the mythical creature of legend. "Woah, woah...slow down there Fangmeyer, it's just Jessica."

Nick nervously looked between Judy and Fangmeyer, the fox's hackles rising at the sight of the weapon pointed at his partner. Delgato noticed the fox's gaze, and in a split second reached out and tore the taser from Fangmeyer's grasp, slapping the wolf on the back of his head a second later.

"Wh...who?" Fangmeyer gulped, rubbing the back of his head as his gaze shifted first from Judy to the massive creature behind her, then back to the tiny bunny. A deep throated chuckle was heard from the creature, who was holding its belly with one hoof and slapping its knee with the other one.

The grey doe turned her head to look at the furry monster behind her. "Come on Jessica, you've had your fun, now take it off. You don't want to give our guest here any more of a heart attack."

The creatures shoulder's slumped and what sounded like giggling came from within as the arms suddenly went limp. A zipper could be heard, and all at once, the creature fell in a pile onto the floor, revealing a laughing Jessica pulling herself out of the costume from the back of it.

"Oh, that never gets old," Jessica laughed, her eyes filling with tears as she tried wiping them away. "Did any of you get it on camera this time?"

Nick was looking at all the other mammals in the room, simply a blank stare on his face as he slowly removed the earmuffs from off his head.

"What just happened?"

"I'm with Wilde on this one," Fangmeyer added, glaring at his partner while shoving the taser back into the pouch on the wolf's belt. "What was that thing and why do you have it in the first place?"

Jessica and Judy turned to face him, the latter removing her earmuffs as well. "Oh that?" Judy stated, pointing to the costume on the ground. "That's Ole Bigpaw. We use him to get the kits off of guests when they aren't listening to any of us, or when they see a mammal they haven't seen before."

"I'm guessing they've never seen a tiger before?" Delgato groaned, picking up his tail and stroking it gently to push down all the messed up fur the Kerfluffle had created when they had mobbed him.

Jessica nodded. "Most probably haven't seen a wolf before either, as the Wolversons and Fangater's are the only wolf families nearby, and they both live on the opposite end of town."

"How does it work?" Nick asked, padding over the costume and tentatively touching it, looking through the opening in its back. He poked his head inside it for a moment, before his arms quickly followed. A moment later, the arms of the creature, which had until then been on the floor, began flopping about, creating an odd slapping sound as they hit the wooden floor.

The fox appeared a moment later, grinning madly. "Carrots, I didn't know you were into puppets."

Judy beamed as Nick chuckled at the ingenuity of the Hopps' clan. "My brother Calab made it for us after he graduated with a mechanical engineering degree from Bunnyburrow Tech nearly a decade ago. He figured we needed a way to get the Kerfluffle off of visitors, and scaring them was the easiest, and most fun, option."

"Has it traumatized anyone yet?" Delgato questioned, pointing a finger at his partner, who was still eyeing the costume cautiously. "Well, besides him?" Fangmeyer shot a quick glare at the tiger, muttering something about ' _like you weren't scared either…'._

"Only a few kits," Jessica replied with a grin, "but so far they seem to have all grown out of it, and once they hit 18, we actually have them pilot it for themselves so they get to be on the other side of the scare.

Delgato grunted in reply as he pushed himself to his feet, only to bang his head on a ceiling beam, releasing a low pain-filled growl. To the amused chuckles of Nick, the tiger turned and ducked to avoid the beam, only to succeed in hitting his head on a hanging chandelier.

"Having trouble there, Stripes?" Nick coughed, his sense of humor returning quickly after his surprise. "Or did  _Bigpaw_  over there scare you senseless?"

Delgato frowned, readying a retort when Fangmeyer abruptly cut him off.

"Thank goodness that wasn't the real thing…" he gasped. "I wouldn't be able to take seeing him again."

All heads turned in his direction, and the wolf suddenly found himself at the center of attention.

"What...why are you all staring at me like that…" he nervously stated.

Judy spoke for all of them when she said…

"What do you mean,  _again_?"

* * *

It took nearly a quarter of an hour of careful maneuvering on Delgato's part, several pots of coffee and each of them reminding Fangmeyer that Bigpaw, in fact, does not exist, until the five mammals were seated in the spacious living room.  _Spacious_ , that is, for animals Judy and Nick's size, not necessarily Delgato's or Fangmeyer's. Bonnie, Stu, and several other older rabbits had come out thanks to the Bigpaw commotion, quickly noticing the new guests in their home.

As the parents to the kits corralled their kids towards their rooms, Judy and Nick introduced the other officers, who each kindly offered their paw to the leaders of the Hopps' clan. At first, spotting a tiger in their living room had nearly reduced Stu to a blubbering mess, but only after gentle coaxing and calming from Judy and Nick that the tiger was a detective and there to update them about the case, did the elderly buck calm down.

"So, what happened and why were you and Wolfy here at the bottom of a fluff pile?" Nick asked Delgato, on behalf of Judy's parents who were still somewhat shocked at having two much larger predators in their living room. Nick took a sip of coffee afterwards, knowing that even a dozen cups wouldn't keep him up for long tonight, as he was so exhausted after the days events that even the coffee he was drinking wouldn't sustain him for much longer.

"These two were waiting outside for me to come back from grabbing the lovebirds," Jessica stated, grinning when she noticed the tiger and wolf smirking at their fellow ZPD officers. "But apparently, Azure, one of my sister's kits, found out we had visitors after going to the kitchen for a cup of water, and quickly gathered the rest of the Kerfluffle to investigate."

Nick knew the feeling all too well, and if he hadn't gone through a very similar experience when he had arrived for the first time at Judy's childhood home, he would have pitied his fellow officers. But because he  _had_ experienced it, he could only grin, hiding his smirk behind his cup as he took another sip of the brew.

"Well, I'm sorry about your greeting," Stu stated, rubbing the back of his head. Both him and Bonnie were in their pajamas and robes, both looking like they'd much rather be in bed than accepting guests at such a hour. Stu tightened the cord to his brown crosshatch dressing gown with a sigh. "Once the Kerfluffle learns we have visitors, there's no stopping them, which is why Calab created the Bigpaw costume."

 _Tell me about it..._ Nick thought, smiling when Judy nudged him in his side.

"So why didn't I know about Bigpaw before," Nick chimed in, glancing at Stu. "I'm fairly certain that I could have used the help last time I was here."

"Consider it payback for the donut prank you played on Clawhauser," Judy grinned, her eyes going into a half-lidded gaze.

"Oh, is  _that_  how you want to play this," Nick joked, leaning his head towards Judy until they were nearly muzzle to muzzle. "You know better than to try and outfox a fox, Carrots."

Bonnie and Stu exchanged an embarrassed glance. Giving their wholehearted approval to the relationship was one thing, but they weren't used to seeing this kind of flirting in their living room.

"Oh, do I?" Judy asked, leaning in a bit further. Both went silent as their noses were almost touching. Nick's paw was quickly moving towards Judy's side, as Judy's own paw reached for Nick's neck as they began to close the final distance between them.

It was time for an intervention.

"We apologize for the late hour," Delgato began, coughing into his paw to break up the scene playing out in front of them all. The fox and doe quickly snapped out of their love-bubble, both feeling their ears heating up as they both shrugged at the same moment. Delgato grinned at the mirrored behavior before continuing. "If it wasn't an emergency, we would have left it until morning, but we have some important updates that Officers Hops and Wilde need to know about as well as crucial case information."

 _That_  perked up both Judy's and Nick's ears, and they turned to face the tiger.

"What happened?" Judy asked quickly. "Did you find something at the festival?"

Delgato's gaze shifted from the rabbit and fox to the other rabbits in the room, then back to the partners; a silent signal that what he was about to say needed to be mentioned in private.

Judy nodded, realizing that whatever Delgato needed to say was probably something that her family couldn't, or more likely shouldn't, overhear. "Mom, Dad, Jessica, would you give us a few minutes?"

Stu quickly nodded. "Oh sure, no problem." Judy's parents and sister quickly stood and went to leave, but not before Bonnie and Stu gave both her and Nick an approving look. Stu gave them both a thumbs up and a wink, and Judy could almost feel the heat radiating from her ears, after the gesture from her father of all bunnies. Though she soon giggled as she watched Stu's ear get pinched by Bonnie as the matriarch of the Hopps' clan dragged her husband away from the living room.

Jessica was about to leave, but quickly returned to the couch and gave her sister a hug.

"I'm going to be outside for a bit…" she replied, her face showing she appeared happy, yet her voice doing a terrible job of masking the pain behind it. In all the hubbub of the evening, Judy had entirely forgotten that her sister had just had a painful breakup earlier that night.

"If you need me, you know where I am," Judy replied, returning the hug and allowing it to linger. After several moments, Jessica pulled away, a bright smile on her face as she wiped at her eyes.

"Thank you Judy," she stated, before heading towards the front entrance. They all heard the door open, then close, as Jessica walked out onto the porch. Judy saw her partner's ears perking up and knew a question was playing itself over in his head. The doe shook her head as she heard her sister's muffled voice from outside.

_'Hey, it's...me. Could you, um, meet me by…'_

Judy sighed, realizing who her sister had called, a mixture of frustration and sadness showing through her eyes and posture as her ears dropped behind her.

"You ok, Carrots?" Nick asked, placing his paw on her shoulder.

Judy nodded slowly. "I'll tell you later," she quickly stated, grabbing his paw and giving it a squeeze. Her attention lingered on Nick for a second, before she turned towards the two detectives. "So, what was it that you needed to inform us about?"

Both detectives suddenly looked a bit sheepish, looking at each other before staring back at their fellow officers. "Actually, Hopps, is there a more  _private_  place we can talk?"

"Sure," Judy drawled after a few seconds. "We can use Nick's guest room if you'd like."

The tiger nodded before the four of them walked towards Nick's room. As they entered, Fangmeyer waved his paw in front of his nose, grinning like a kit playing with a new toy.

"Wow...If I didn't know you two were together before, the smell in this room  _definitely_  confirms it," the wolf laughed, as both Nick's tail and Judy's ears drooped behind them, though, in Judy's case, her foot began also loudly thumping the floorboards.

"I know what you're thinking Fangs," Nick warned, his eyes narrowing. "And what you are thinking, stop thinking it."

An amused smile lit across Fangmeyer's face. "Oh, and could you explain what that is, maybe?"

By this point, Judy had pulled her ears over her face and Nick knew she was nearly at the point of groaning in frustration, judging by how red her ears had become. Before Nick could make a comment, asking if the wolf would like to be the subject of pranks for the next two months if he speculated any further about Judy and his 'sleeping arrangments', Delgato took swift command of the situation with a quick glare of warning towards his partner.

"Keep it together, Fangmeyer," Delgato warned, walking into the room, pausing only once to grin as he sniffed the air himself. His gaze shifted to the rabbit and fox who sat down on the edge of the bed, while Fangmeyer tried to fit into a loveseat positioned against the wall. The tiger didn't even bother to find a chair his size, and simply stood with his back leaning against the wall. "So, Hopps, Wilde. I'm assuming you haven't heard anything new since you've left the scene?"

Both officers shook their heads. For the next twenty minutes, Delgato described everything that had happened, down to the minutest details, of what they had found so far. Both Judy and Nick offered their own thoughts and opinions, and even corrected a few rumors that had already been spun about the crimes that had occurred. After a complete and thorough explanation was offered, all four sat silent for several moments, digesting the new information as it began to settle in their minds.

Not to Nick's surprise, given how empathetic his partner was, Judy was the first to speak, and she instantly asked about Gideon.

Delgato's brows knit together and a frown hung across his features, snuffing out a great deal of Judy's hope for her friend, much like a wet blanket dousing a dying fire.

It was something neither Nick nor Judy were looking for.

"Oh…" was all Judy could muster as she hung her head, staring at her paws, but her despondency only lasted for a moment before she again looked up with hope in her eyes. "He'll... _live_ , right?"

Delgato nodded, the simple gesture rekindling that fire of hope within her that had nearly been smothered moments before. She turned to watch Nick's reaction, and could see that the fox had been holding his breath, shoulders tense and ears pinned back. At Delgato's words, he let all the tension out at once, breathing out a sigh of relief at the news.

"He's...stable," the tiger continued verbally. "That's about all we can say about him at the moment."

Both Nick and Judy froze and turned towards the detective.

"What do you mean?" Judy asked, gaze momentarily shifting again to her own partner, who she felt fidget on the bed next to her.

"What I mean, is that  _physically_  the doctors have managed to repair the damage Nick did to him." Delgato halted as he saw the fox wince, only for Judy to instinctively place a paw atop her partner's. Her other paw gently touched his neck, rubbing it calmingly as the fur on the back of his neck began to lower as his tension eased. The briefest flicker of a smile appeared on the tiger's face before he continued.

"However, when he woke up for the first time after the antitoxin was given to him, he nearly bit the head off of the beaver taking his vitals."

"What?"

The gasp had come from Nick, whose ears were standing straight up. "What do you mean he attacked an orderly  _after_  being given the anti-toxin?"

"He means exactly that," Fangmeyer interjected, leaning forward in the all too small chair. "He's  _still_  savage, and we don't know why. The doctor's can't explain it. We've already contacted Dr Woods and she is examining several samples of the toxin. We've even contacted Furzer labs to see if they had any additional antitoxin vials to send to us, but none of their scientists are in at the moment, so they called their leads to come in immediately and are now working overtime to figure this out."

Fangmeyer gave both fox and rabbit a reassuring gaze. "They'll make sure you get your friend back, even if I have to go in there and knock some heads together to make it happen. I promise."

Judy was grateful for Fangmeyer's support, but a quick glance to her side told her that Nick still had his reservations.

"You mean to say that the mammals that  _developed_  the original antitoxin," Nick interjected, holding his paws in the air in front of him, one paw pointing down at his other palm, "don't even know why it isn't working?"

"That about sums it up," Delgato growled, pushing himself off the wall and beginning to pace the length of the room in four short steps. "They mentioned they have scientists working on a new antitoxin based upon what you two found last time at the labs, but, other than that, we have nothing to go on."

Judy and Nick looked at each other, not needing words to communicate between them as their looks spoke volumes themselves. The rabbit turned to the detectives, worry etched into her face. The tiger had learned that the fox who had gone savage and attacked their fellow officers had been a friend of the Hopps family, and that it also wasn't the first time this particular fox had attacked her. He'd seen some of the grainy video footage from cell phones of her backing away from the portly fox before he was tackled away by Nick. He repressed a shudder, knowing that for such an experience to repeat itself might present problems in the future, and made a mental note to include that in his report.

"I think we may have something to offer," Judy stated, moving her gaze away from Nick's.

"Oh, what would that be?" Fangmeyer asked, fidgeting in the chair; he was still trying to make himself comfortable in the rabbit sized loveseat.

"We may know a mammal or two at Furzer who might might help us out," Nick stated with a grin, leaning back against the bed. A whisper of a grin appeared on his face, his eyes narrowing slightly in concern as he reached a paw to his back pocket of his pants.

"Nick?" Judy asked, a single eyebrow raising. "You okay?"

"Sure Fluff, just…I don't remember putting my wallet in that pocket."

The fox reached into his back pocket and withdrew a small billfold. At first, to Judy, it seemed like he was confused, then, as realization hit the fox, his confusion turned quickly to elation and his grin turned quickly into one of the best smirks she'd seen on him since meeting him.

" _Actually_ , I think I just came up with something better."

"What's with the wallet, Wilde? Got a picture of the perp in there or something?" Fangmeyer chuckled and slapped his paw against Delgato's side, the tiger rolling his eyes at the gesture.

"Well, about that…" Nick stated in a lazy reply as he flicked open the wallet. "It has that, and  _more._ "

The eyes of the other three mammals in the room all widened at once. Judy was the first to recover from her shock, the beginnings of a grin on her face.

"How on earth did you get his wallet?"

Nick shrugged, flipping through the wallet while pulling out random cards and receipts. "Oh, you know, us foxes are quite sly at times," he replied lazily. "A perk of our species, really." After looking at the frustrated looks on the two detectives faces, Nick sighed. "Fine, when stripes tried to tackle me and his face became a little too friendly with a picnic table, this fell out and I picked it up. Thought it might be useful but kind of forgot that I had it after what happened next."

Nick grinned down at Judy, who was vibrating in excitement. He tensed, fearing his arm would soon be on the receiving end of the bunny's fist, but was pleasantly surprised when instead she nearly bowled him over as she gripped him in a large hug.

"Oh Nick!" She beamed up at him, forgetting the other animals in the room as she leaned up and placed a peck on his cheek. "So, who is this zebra?"

"Well, that's where this gets  _really_  interesting, and slightly disturbing," the fox mentioned, scratching at the base of his ears. Nick let out a weary sigh, realizing that it would be the second time tonight he'd be letting others into a part of his life that he otherwise wouldn't want to do. Pausing to look at Judy, the bunny clasping her paw over his, giving him an affectionate look, Nick looked back to the other two detectives.

"You two may want to get comfortable, as even the condensed version of this story is a bit long…"

* * *

After his second recounting of his childhood trauma of the night, Nick was exhausted, both physically and emotionally. It was hard enough to allow Judy's parents a peek into his soul, but now, due to this case and his personal connection to it, the secrets he held close to his heart and away from prying eyes was going to be laid bare to the world.

And, of course, Fangmeyer let his opinion be known almost immediately.

"Dang Nick, you really had a messed up life before Hopps here got your tail in a twist."

Delgato smacked the back of his partner's head, growling a 'shut it' as the wolf rubbed at his head.

"That's enough for tonight," the tiger finished growling, before pulling an evidence bag from the pocket of his coat, passing it over to Nick. The fox deposited the object into the bag before sealing it, while Judy fished around the room for a pen to sign and date it for him, before passing the bag back to the tiger. The tiger stood, a signal to his partner that they were leaving. "Now, Hopps, where is the nearest hotel where we can stay until we come and pick the two of you up in a few hours?"

The rabbit shook her head. "There's no need for that, we have plenty of rooms and beds to spare for the two of you, and mom and dad would be furious if you didn't accept their hospitality. Why, just next door we have…"

"Oh no, I don't think we should be next to these two," Fangmeyer interjected, chuckling as the other three mammals turned towards him, their glances begging for an explanation the wolf was only too happy to oblige them with. "After what we saw today on the news of them, I think we might not get any sleep if we're in the room next to these two making out all nig..."

His comments were cut short by a pillow smacking his face, causing the wolf to laugh even harder. Judy glared at him, ears pointed backwards and another pillow at the ready. The rabbit was  _barely_  being held back by her partner, and Delgato was one hundred percent sure that it was only the fox's paws on her sides that was keeping his own partner safe for the moment. The tiger quickly contained his partner by slapping him on the back of his head, the move placating the angered bunny... _somewhat._

"Knock it off, Fang," Delgato growled, before grabbing his partner and hauling them towards the two guest bedrooms Bonnie had mentioned for them. Both rabbit and fox could hear them arguing as they reached the room next door. "Now Fangs, before you do anything, I'm calling the larger bed."

"But why do you get the bigger bed. This one is too small."

"Well," the tiger growled back. "This one is too large for you. Besides, with all three of these jammed together I still might not fit on them."

"Why can't I take Nick's bed, that one seemed just right," the wolf replied.

They could hear the tiger groan in frustration. "Do  _you_  want to smell like bunny and fox all night as well?"

A silence filtered through the door before the wolf replied. "I'll take the small bed."

Nick walked over to the door, closing it with a click, the pair sighed in tandem, grinning when they noticed it while Nick crossed over to his partner, reaching out for Judy's paw.

"Well, tonight was interesting," he muttered with a wide yawn noticing his phone read 3:32am. "Or at least this morning now. Think ol' Stripes will let us sleep in, or should we plan on sleeping in the cruiser on the way back tomorrow?"

"Both," Judy drawled, her own mouth opening in a wide yawn as she stretched. "Think you'll be alright in here for a few hours?" she asked, noticing just how worn down Nick was looking. "Would you like me to stay in here and-"

"That's alright Carrots," Nick quickly replied with a warm smile. "As much as I enjoy your company, I think your father would have a panic attack if he saw you in bed with a fox."

Judy's ears instantly heated as her cheeks flushed a bright red. "That's not what I meant…" she stammered nervously, realizing that was probably what it sounded like she said.

"Aww, is the cute little rabbit all flustered?" Nick smirked, ruffling her ears with his paw. Judy was about to retort, when another yawn cut off her thoughts. "Alright there Fluff, time for you to go to bed." Nick pushed her up off the bed and towards the door. "Can't have anything seeming improper between us," he paused, a twinkle in his eyes, "at least anything  _more_  than what we shared earlier today in front of the world at least."

Judy muttered something under her breath that Nick couldn't quite catch, and he could almost feel the heat radiating from her ears. Before he could even finish chuckling, Judy whirled around and jumped onto him, latching herself around his waist.

"I'm so glad you're ok, Nick."

Nick was surprised by the move, though thankfully recovered his composure quickly as he brought his own arms around her.

"I'm glad you're safe as well Judy. You gave me quite the scare today."

"I know," Judy gasped, and Nick knew by the tone of her voice that the tears were coming. "Promise me you'll be safe in the future?" she murmured into his shirt, gripping the fabric tightly in her paws.

"You realize, Fluff, that is a promise I can't exactly keep with us both being cops. You know that right?"

"I know…" Judy whispered, daring to look up through tired eyes. "But what if I made you an offer you couldn't refuse?"

"Woah there Carrots," Nick laughed, the sound bringing a grin to Judy as well as to himself. "Don't be goin all Mr Big on me now. I thought I put all that behind me."

"Well, it seems like your past has resurfaced quite a bit recently."

The comment came out before Judy could stop it, and she could instantly feel Nick freeze at them.

"Oh, Nick. I'm sorry...I didn't mean…"

Nick pulled slightly away, causing a tremor of fear to jolt through her, only for it to melt a second later as he wiped a tear away from her cheek with a single claw.

"I know Carrots," he replied, trying his best to pull off a grin. "Just go get some rest. We'll need it so  _we_  can put  _my_  past behind me for good, alright?"

Judy nodded, giving him one last embrace before walking slowly out the door, one last parting smile shot his way as a final gift to ease his troubled heart.

"We're going to stop him Nick... _together_."

Nick grinned, waving Judy away as she smiled to herself.

The bunny shut the door with a soft click, leaving only her words to gently fall upon Nick's mind. She may not have meant it to sound the way it did, but that is what he was thinking of now. Nick let out a huge sigh, his shoulders, ears, and tail all dropping behind him as he suddenly found himself quite alone for the first time since the incident that afternoon.

His past had resurfaced, and was now coming back to haunt him, just as he feared it might. And now? It was hurting the ones dearest to him, and had already nearly claimed his partner's life several times over.

It was  _his_  past that was the cause of this.

It was  _his_  problems that had become problems for the entire city. And a question laid itself upon his mind at the moment, with a surprising clarity that resounded in its implications.

_Is it all worth it?_

Nick pondered that single question for a long time as the clock on the bedstand ticked quietly away. Did Judy think being around him, being  _close_ to him, would be worth it after this? After this revelation that the one behind all of what had happened was trying to get back at him, and him alone?

Was  _he,_ Nick Wilde, a twenty year hustler turned police fox, worth it? Judy's words, intending to be so gentle, came crashing down upon him like the waves upon a jetty, spraying his mind with residual thoughts and feelings.

_...together._

That single word calmed his worries, placated his anxieties and was a balm to his troubled heart. He trusted Judy completely, utterly and entirely. If she asked him to jump off another hundred foot waterfall with her, the only question he'd ask her would be when. Nick knew Judy didn't doubt that they could bring down the zebra who had haunted the dreams of his childhood, causing more nightmares than sweet dreams to trouble his youth.

But  _only_  if they did it together.

In the brief time he had looked at the wallet he picked off the zebra, he  _had_  remembered the address of the zebra who had tormented him in the past, and was tormenting those closest to him now. A true smile began to form as he realized what tomorrow, or, more correctly, what later  _today_  would bring to him.

A sweet and intoxicating word entered his thoughts, and he quickly grabbed a hold of it before it could disappear into the aether of his mind. He could finally be free of a lifetime of demons. He wasn't even aware what he was doing as he pulled off his shirt, shuffled out of his pants and crawled under the covers of his bed, his mind wrapped up with thoughts of what a life with Judy would be like, free from the demons of his past that currently haunted him.

As well as that single word that brought him such peace, a silent smile graced his lips as his head hit his pillow, the smell of Judy filling his nostrils. He breathed it in deeply, the aroma so intoxicating that he could barely believe it had only been a few days since they had declared their intentions and love towards another.

That one blissful word drifted before him, his final thoughts upon it as his eyes finally shuttered. A fleeting smile signalling his departure into the realm of sleep and dreams, and finally, not one of nightmares of his youth. He didn't even notice how he whispered the word as he gave into the bliss of sleep.

 _Closure_.


	31. On the Road Again

 

Most of the Hopps family was gathered around the breakfast room table, idly discussing the events of yesterday while munching on toast slathered with carrot jam, or nibbling on pancakes smothered in carrot jelly. Several of the teenage sons could be heard having an argument over what the difference between jams and jellies were, but all that stopped when four mammals trudged into the main hall from the guest rooms.

As the wake up gong sounded at 6am after the harvest season in the Hopp's household, rather than the less appealing 4:30 am of the busy months, it had left the four police mammals a little over four hours of rest for the night. That was, if they actually had been lucky enough to manage any to begin with.

The bunny leading the sorry-looking line of blue uniforms rubbed at her eyes. As soon as Judy had left to go to her own room, she hadn't been able to get a wink of sleep as the events of the previous day had been constantly on her mind, her mind trying its best to process everything when all she wanted was to sleep.

Nick, walking behind her, seemed a  _little_  better off, as it looked as if he  _had_  actually managed to get some semblance of rest that night. Though it still didn't seem to show through as his fur was sticking out in random puffs and his normally bushy tail was dragging across the ground. Though that was probably more likely due to the two kits currently riding it across the floor, giggling as they played with the fluffy brush of fur. One of the kits walking next to him though, took Nick's appearance a step further, starting to giggle as they put their paws out in front of them while moaning about brains as the fox lumbered forward. Nick just rolled his eyes and kept moving.

Delgato and Fangmeyer just looked plain haggard, like they had gone one too many rounds with Ursula at the police academy, as the polar bear had been a pro-boxer before becoming an instructor. The tiger was stooped over in exhaustion as the feline put his paws to the base of his back and stretched, a series of loud pops crackling across the room.

"Gee, what happened last night," one of Judy's brothers - who Nick thought was called Hubert though he honestly wasn't 100% sure - asked as the four walked past him. "You guys look worse than Uncle Terry after he thought the tv cable was a chew stick."

"Thanks," Nick said dryly as he passed by the diminutive rabbit. "I love 'ya too kid." Judy just gave Hubert a glare as she passed.

"You're welcome," the buck stated merrily, digging back into his bowl of soggy Carrot Crispies, several of the carrot flakes dripping down from his maw as he slurped up the contents of his spoon. Nick leaned forward to speak in Judy's ear.

"Was that the same Uncle Terry you told me about?"

Judy nodded, "Yeah, that's Terry "Can I eat it?" Hopps for ya." They both shared a laugh over that, and Nick made a point to thank her Uncle for being such a 'biter'.

The rest of the morning went about as well Nick's conversation with Hubert had gone. Both Fangmeyer and Delgato became the new playthings for the Kerfluffle, with both barely managing to get to the table as the young rabbits acted more like vicious predators and climbed all over them, with several of the youngest kits using Delgato's long feline tail as a chew toy when he stopped to pull kits off his legs.

Fangmeyer was in no better shape when the kits found out he had just as fluffy a tail as Nick's as well as it being longer than the fox's, which gave the vulpine quite a good chuckle seeing several kits swinging from it as the wolf tried in vain to get them to release his fluffy appendage.

"At least it's them and not me today," Nick mused, munching on a piece of blueberry jam smeared toast. He scowled, before reaching his knife back into the jelly container, slathering another whole layer of the fruity spread onto his toast.

"Why don't you just pour the bottle on, Nick?" Judy asked impishly, snickering as a large plop of purple jam dripped onto Nick's plate.

Nick grinned at her, partly due to her comment and partly thanks to catching the sight of Bonnie and Stu trying to pry their kits and grandkits off the other two police mammals out of the corner of his eye. "You know, that actually isn't that bad an idea."

Judy shook her head as he scooped another dollop onto his toast, biting into it with such a satisfied moan of delight that the rabbit couldn't help but snort in amusement as she nibbled on her own toast with carrot spread. Rolling her eyes, she glanced down the table to see who was present, and noted that her sister's chair was noticeably empty.

"Mom, where's Jessica?"

Bonnie looked down the table at her daughter. "Oh, she must still be out. Left a text last night that said she had to do something in town early this morning."

Worry began to fill Judy's mind as she stared down at the food on her plate. Judy wondered if her sister had even come home the night before. Just as she began to reach for her phone, a crunching sound came from next to her.

"So," Nick began, merrily munching away on his breakfast. "On a scale of one to ten, one being angry, ten being parking duty for the rest of our lives furious...where do you think Bogo is going to rank when we get back?"

The doe kept back her desire to smash her head into the table at the question. "I don't want to even think of what Bogo will do when we get back..." she finally groaned, biting into her toast with a little more force than necessary, her teeth clacking together loudly. Wincing at the temporary pain, Judy took a much softer, second bite. "And there is so much we already need to do when we get back, I don't even know where to start."

"Don't fret your little tail, Hopps," Fangmeyer stated, finally managing, with the help of several of Judy's older siblings, to get the last few kits of the Kerfluffle off of him. "Delgato and I were up for a bit last night trying to come up with a list of what we needed to do, and in which order so that Chief doesn't throw his desk at us when we get back."

Nick paused in his eating, looking at the wolf. "Wait, so Bogo  _hasn't_  contacted you yet about any of this?"

Fangmeyer shook his head.

Nick then turned to Judy, "He hasn't called us either this morning, or since our report last night to Higgins…"

A swell of anxious thoughts rose in his chest, though he quickly hid it behind a large bite of toast. With a story that was as big or even larger than any of the other pieces in this crime wave had been, he thought that the Chief would have at least gotten a hold of one of the teams to ask for an update. The thought that he hadn't gave him the chills, as he imagined a very livid Bogo upon arrival back in Zootopia.

A soft paw on his arm calmed his troubled thoughts.

"I'm sure he won't be that mad," Judy stated softly, giving the fox an adorable, at least to him, smile. "Besides, maybe he's just busy?"

* * *

Bogo stared at the coffee mug in his hoof with enough annoyance he was sure the liquid would soon boil into steam under his gaze, shortly before his desk would catch fire.

At least a fire would be an improvement upon this entire situation. The tv in the corner of his office was blaring the latest news from Bunnyburrow, flashing the video of his two tiniest officers fighting for their lives against the murderer they had been after, followed quickly by them staving off a savage fox.

A cracking sound, followed by liquid seeping down his fur switched his attention from the tv to his arm. Where his coffee mug  _had_  been was now a destroyed husk of a cup, the remaining coffee inside bleeding down his forearm. Grumbling a few choice curses, Bogo dumped the remains of his latest coffee mug into the trash, allowing it to join several others that had suffered the same fate as he reached into a desk drawer to pull out another replacement, one which would hopefully last more than five minutes.

But in his current mood, there were no guarantees, especially as the picture of Nick and Judy kissing appeared on the screen…

_CRACK_

* * *

"I'm sure he's just organizing the TUSK team to go after our suspect and waiting for us to get back so we can join it," Judy stated, her voice sounding more like her statement was said in hope than a basis in fact.

"You said you got a hold of Higgins last night, right Fang?" Nick added. "Did you pass along the address of where our perp lives?"

This time Delgato nodded. "That we did. Higgins has had some undercover units watching his place since we called in. They're pushing through a warrant to search the place in case he doesn't show up."

"Why wait for a warrant?" Judy huffed. "We have probable cause."

Delgato snickered. "We know, Hopps. As much as I'd like to be part of the TUSK team smashing in his door, we're just hoping that he's stupid enough to show up first so we can nab him,  _then_  search his place all in one go."

"Two birds, one stone," Fangmeyer added, spotting a rather large pancake plopping onto the plate in front of him from one of the servers for the meal. His eyes widened as he licked his chops. "Geez Hopps, you guys have better service here than most hotels I've stayed at!"

Nick snickered as Judy rolled her eyes. "When you have this many mouths to feed multiple times a day, you tend to create schedules and organize who will be doing what so nobody is missed. Lots of farm work still to do even after the harvest so you have to be creative with how it all gets down and how fast."

"Glad to see my little Jude the Dude hasn't forgotten her roots," Stu said merrily, grinning at his daughter. He noticed her frown, then her scowl...followed by placing her head in her paws and letting out a sharp groan. "What..what did I say?" Stu asked.

" _Jude_ the _Dude_?" Delgato repeated, doing his best to suppress a snicker. Fangmeyer was doing worse as he was coughing on a bit of pancake he had taken at precisely the same moment as her nickname was said. Nick, however, knew better than all of them and simply kept silent.

Judy glared at the tiger, pointing her fork at him. "Don't  _ever_  say that again or I'll make sure Bogo assigns you a new sparring partner... _me._ "

The tiger quieted instantly at the deadly stare the rabbit sent at him, nodding once before going grabbing a fork and digging into his own pancake.

A set of paws found their way onto Judy's shoulders, as Nick began rubbing them gently. "A bit high strung today, eh Carrots?"

Judy had picked up her toast, but dropped it back to her plate with a groan. "Why wouldn't I be?" she replied, turning to look at her partner. "We have so much to do when we get back. We're going to have to file the paperwork about the nighthowler attack, then for the fight with the zebra," she was mindful not to use his real name in front of her family, "and the following savage assault. Next we'll have to file the evidence away, check in with forensics about the case, follow up about Gideon at the hospital and…"

In the midst of her ramblings, Judy suddenly found herself looking at Nick, who had gently cupped his paw around her cheek and was smirking at her. "Seriously Fluff? There's a reason why we have these two grunts helping us." Nick pointed to Delgato and Fangmeyer, who were thankfully too busy with their breakfasts to hear the vulpine's comment. "We have a nearly four hour drive to figure all that out, and remember, you  _don't_  have to do all that alone. You have quite the foxy compatriot helping you out."

A flickering smile came to Judy as Nick gave her his best grin.

"So don't go worrying your beautiful bunny brain about it now. One bite at a time, remember?"

Nick grinned as Judy slowly nodded, then for good measure, placed a single, quick kiss on her forehead. "Now, breakfast  _first_ , planning  _later_."

Judy smiled as she refocused back onto her toast. Worry still nagged at her, especially with just how much they would have to do when they got back, but...at least Nick had brought up a good point.

She didn't have to do it alone.

And with that knowledge tucked away for future use, Judy rejoined the conversation at the table, relishing in the love and happiness that abounded there, even with everything that had happened the day before.

* * *

Judy gave her parents one last hug before heading to the car, Nick trying for a pawshake with his girlfriend's parents, only found himself being wrapped up in a pair of rabbit hugs from both Bonnie and Stu around his stomach, the latter actually lifting him off the ground as Nick felt the rabbit's hug take the breath out of him.

_Now I know where Judy gets her strength from..._ Nick thought as Stu placed him back on the ground, wiping at his eyes. Even though the buck was shorter than Judy, it was crazy to think that he was able to lift a mammal nearly twice his height and weight off their feet, though he imagined that hugging him so low probably helped him in lifting him up and back slightly to have pulled him off his feet.

"You go take care of our Bon Bon now, alright?" Bonnie stated sharply, wagging her finger at Nick, though the demand also came with a smile.

"You mean  _her_ watching  _me_?" Nick retorted lightly. "She's saved my skin far more often than I think I've been able to save her."

"You saved her dream though," Stu interrupted, a trembling smile on his muzzle. "And that can't  _ever_  be repaid."

Nick fumbled for words, finding himself for once at a complete loss. Bonnie took it as an opportunity to continue.

"Nick, we know that you care deeply about our daughter, especially after what you told us last night. As well as with what we saw at the fairgrounds."

Nick lowered his head and sighed. "Again, I apologize for not being there to…"

"Don't go apologizing again unnecessarily unless you  _really_  want me to get my fox taser out," Stu warned. Nick complied and shut his muzzle.

"Now," Stu continued. "Sure, we're a bit nervous about it all," Stu mumbled, taking off his hat so his paws would have something to fumble with. "I mean, this isn't the first time one of our daughters have dated a fox, but, you're so far away and on such a dangerous case…"

Bonnie stared at Stu, whose mutterings slowly died off as she refocused her attention on Nick. "What I think my husband is trying to say, is that we just want you to do your best at keeping her safe. I know you two can't keep other from all dangers in the city, but, just promise us you'll try your best."

"I can do that," Nick promised, wishing that he could promise to  _always_  keep his partner safe.

"And we can tell she adores you, so just don't do anything to hurt her," Stu added quickly.

"Wouldn't dream of it sir, ma'am," Nick replied, with his finest 'graduation day' salute.

The rabbit placed a paw on her hips while the other was held out in a scolding position, finger wagging. "Now don't you go 'sir'ing' or 'ma'aming' us Nicholas  _Piberious_ Wilde."

Nick nearly gagged. "How…

"...do I know your middle name?" Bonnie finished for him before turning towards her husband. "Now how did Judy tell us the rest of that line was supposed to go dear?"

Stu scratched his head as Nick slapped a paw over his face. " _No_ …" the fox moaned.

"I think she said something about it being a hustle, darling? Something like that..." Stu offered.

Bonnie looked back at Nick and shook her finger at him. "Yes, that's it. You've gone and been hustled, darling," she stated with an overly dramatic smile.

"Close enough," Nick chuckled, shaking his head. He'd have to talk to Judy about who she could tell his middle name to, unless the whole precinct would soon find out about Judith  _Laverne_ Hopps.

"Take good care of our daughter," Stu reminded as Nick moved to leave. Nick turned, giving the pair his biggest smile and another crisp salute.

"As you wish."

The smiles on Bonnie and Stu's faces were nearly more than he could handle. Nick hadn't expected them to be so accepting of his and Judy's relationship. He'd actually expected a reaction closer to torches and pitchforks, hundreds of bunnies chasing him off the property and all the way back to Zootopia. Or a hundred fox tasers being trained on him at the news of their relationship going public. He recalled a bit of the conversation he had with Bonnie and Stu from the night before.

_"Nick, son…"Stu spoke up, tears in his eyes. "I think Bonnie and I understand. We can both see you love Judy." The patriarch of the Hopps' home looked to his wife, who nodded. "And we think it's great."_

_Nick hadn't truly comprehended what was being said. He kept waiting for the "but…" to follow, yet it never did. "You...you aren't uncomfortable about your daughter being with a fox?"_

_Stu stood up, placing a paw on the vulpine's shoulder. "Nick, at this point, I'd be uncomfortable with Judy being with anyone else but you."_

Nick smiled at the memory as he gazed upon the bunny who now encompassed so much of his thoughts. Judy was waving him towards the unmarked car, the back door already opened for the two of them. Delgato had already put their luggage into the trunk and was waiting by the drivers side door, his face a mask of indifference, which was quite normal for the large tiger.

"Hey Wilde," the feline yelled. "Chief wants us back yesterday."

The fox shook himself of his daydreams as he finished walking towards the cruiser, ruffling Judy's ears as he walked past. As the four situated themselves, Fangmeyer leaned back across the passenger side seat.

"You two alright back there?"

"Sure thing boss," Nick replied giving him a faux salute as he leaned back into the plush seating, folding his arms behind his head.

The wolf smiled. "Good. And you seem to have plenty of cuddle room."

Fangmeyer's seat jostled forward, startling the wolf as Judy, who was sitting behind him, gave his seat a none too gentle reminder that a bunny can have quite a powerful kick and was indeed sitting behind him.

"Hey there Hopps, easy on the car. You break it, you buy it," Fangmeyer snickered, earning a scowl from the rabbit.

As the car began to move, the sound of crunching gravel beneath its wheels as it rolled down the Hopps' driveway, Judy took one look back at her family home, seeing a majority of her kin waving them goodbye.

"You'll see 'em soon, Fluff."

Nick placed a paw on her shoulder, both his comment and presence calming the anxiety within her.

"I know."

Before they had even reached the driveway, Nick had leaned over to Judy and whispered in her ear.

"So, how long do you think it would take to annoy these two?"

At first, shock was the only emotion Judy's face could betray, followed swiftly by annoyance, anger, acceptance and finally, a smirk.

"With you?" Judy looked the fox up once and down. "I give them less than an hour."

Nick looked appalled. "You think it would take that long for us to get to them?"

"Alright," she added with a grin. "Thirty minutes."

Nick winked at her. "I bet twenty."

"You're on."

* * *

_Fifteen minutes into the trip..._

"I spy…" Nick tapped his paw to his chin, "something grey…"

Judy rolled her eyes, leaning against the door as open fields passed just beyond the glass. "It's me. And the next one - just a guess - me."

She could practically  _hear_  Nick's smarmy grin, besides from seeing it in the reflection of the car's window.

"Why Carrots, I never thought you were so self centered." He placed a paw over his heart. "The last five times  _may_  have been you, but this time it was  _actually_ something different."

"So what was it?" Judy replied, slightly irritated at her partner but amused at his antics.

"The fur on Delgato's neck," Nick replied calmly. "He must be getting a bit thin in the whiskers after so long on the force..."

"Shut it Wilde," the mentioned tiger growled.

"Yes Chief," Nick shot back just as quick.

Judy couldn't help but snicker.  _This is going to be an interesting drive..._

* * *

_One hour in..._

"Oh! Turn it up! Turn it up!"

Fangmeyer groaned, but complied to the now excited rabbit's request, turning the radio up until she stopped reaching for the dial on the front dash. Gazelle's, "Try Everything" blared through the car's speakers, as Judy began singing and bouncing along to the beat.

"Seriously Judy?" Delgato growled. "You're shaking the car."

Nick placed a paw on the tiger's seat and leaned forward. "Hey, do you want to throw off the bun's groove? That isn't a good idea, you know." Delgato shoved his paw onto Nick's face, pushing the fox back into his seat. Judy shot her partner a grin, which he returned with a wink. "Can't have my partner singing alone; it's against regulations." Nick stated smartly.

A groan came from both mammals in the front seat as a horrible sounding noise came from the fox's throat.

_Why me..._ Delgato thought, wishing he would have bought earplugs for this trip.

With the fox now crooning alongside his partner, the pair seemed to be in a competition to see who could sing either the loudest, or the worst, as the song continued.

Fangmeyer rubbed at his temple, while beginning to wonder how long his tranquilizers would knock a rabbit or fox out for. A paw on his arm stopped him from reaching for it. The wolf looked at his partner, who simply mouthed, ' _not worth the paperwork'_  to the sound of two severely off-key mammals behind them.

* * *

_One hour, thirty minutes in…_

"Hotel Califurnia...that's an odd name for a hotel." Nick nudged his partner. "What would you think of staying there for a night?"

Judy rolled her eyes, going back to staring out her own window as the fox let out a slight 'hmm' before looking back out the window on his side.

* * *

_Two hours in..._

"So Fang," Nick had removed his seatbelt and was leaning up and over the wolf's seat. "You mentioned last night that you've seen Bigpaw before?"

Fangmeyer's ears perked up as he quickly turned in his seat, knocking the fox onto the backseat and next to his partner. Judy's eyes lit up. "Oh, I was wondering about that."

The wolf grinned. "Really? Delgato here never wanted to hear the story before…"

"I never thought you were that stupid to believe in it before," the tiger replied with a grin.

Casting his partner a quick death glare, Fangmeyer refocused back onto the two mammals in the backseat before he cleared his throat.

"It was a dark and stormy night," Fangmeyer began with a flourish of his paws, "when my friends convinced me to go on a snipe hunt with them in the woods of Wolfgang forest…"

* * *

_Three hours, fifteen minutes in..._

"So, in order to get the carrots to grow, you need the right kind of fertilizer, and not only that, but it's best to make sure that they are the correct distance apart as otherwise they'll take away the nutrients of the produce around them."

"Interesting, tell me more…" Nick nodded his head. After Fangmeyer's retelling of his Bigpaw story, and much laughter following - resulting in the wolf sulkily refusing to talk for the next five minutes -, Nick had asked Judy about farm life at the Hopps' home. She had instantly gone into explanation mode with Nick following each and every step of how to grow carrots, studiously ignoring the whimpers from the front seat.

* * *

_Three hours, thirty minutes in..._

"Are we there yet…?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

The tiger gripped the wheel tighter. "...No."

Looking through the rear view mirror, Delgato glared at the fox in the back seat,

"Are we…"

The tiger whirled around in his seat, roaring at the fox. "Shut your mouth Wilde!"

"Driving! Driving!" Nick shouted as the car swerved across the road, nearly hitting a tree before Delgato swerved back onto the pavement. Fangmeyer was plastered against the back of his seat, while Judy shot daggers at her partner.

"Are you trying to get us killed Nick?" Judy whispered harshly.

Nick noticed how Delgato was hunched over the steering wheel, paws tight on it. The fox shrugged.

"What, I just wanted to know if we were there yet..."

* * *

_Three hours, forty five minutes in…_

"Almost there…" Delgato whispered as the peaks of the cities largest skyscrapers began appearing from around a bend in the road.  _Just twenty more minutes to the precinct...you can do this._

"Dispatch to unit 311, come in. How far away are you from Zootopia, over?" the merry voice of Clawhauser issued over the device. Nick grabbed the radio before the tiger could even move his paw, leaning over the center console as he lazily grinned at the detective.

"Benji," Nick drawled, letting the 'i' hang for a few seconds. "How are ya doing big guy?" Nick drawled.

"Doing well! Just running low on donuts," replied the cheetah, as Judy groaned. "How far are you from Zootopia now?"

"A few clicks," the fox tossed back at the cheetah. "Need some more donuts there, Spots?"

Judy tried to reach for the radio in Nick's paws, but was yanked back by her seatbelt. Her sense of duty and her sense of survival began to clash, as she was torn between unbuckling herself to snag the radio away from her partner before Bogo heard him say something which would land them in trouble, or keeping the buckle on to not break the law, even if it would probably come back to bite them later.

Nick seemed to have predicted her decision of self-preservation and swished his tail in front of her face, letting his brush lay directly atop the rabbit as she fumbled to move it.

"Oh, you would do that for me?" Clawhauser's excited voice came back over the radio.

"Possibly," Nick replied, eliciting a squeal of joy over the radio from the cheetah. "What kind would you like?"

"Officer Wilde!" the gruff voice of Bogo came through the radio at such a level and intensity that Judy, Fangmeyer and Nick all winced at the ear splitting volume. Delgato turned down the radio as the Chief continued. "I will not repeat myself, so get off the radio and head straight to the precinct!"

"Roger that, sir," Nick lazily replied, rubbing at his ears with his free paw. "I'll make sure we use the drive-through at Pawkin Donuts then so we're quicker about it."

Nick moved away from the radio, but kept his paw on the transfer key. "Fangs, what would you like? Regular glazed with crickets?"

The wolf nodded as the fox turned to the tiger. "And I betcha you're hankering for the curried honey bar?"

The tiger's jaw dropped as Nick listed off his favorite donut, amazed as he had never actually eaten one at the station.

"How did you…" he began, but stopped and shook his head. "Nevermind."

"Oh, I'll take three dozen assorted!" Clawhauser cooed from over the radio, managing to be heard over a chorus of other voices joining the radio chatter. McHorn called in two dozen glazed for him and Trunkaby. Grizzoli and Hiberton could be heard arguing between ordering bear claws and apple fritters and over it all, Nick just snickered as he turned back to his partner.

"What will it be, Carrots? Carrot Creme glazed with sprinkles?

"Noo…" Judy's ears fell behind her head as she pushed his tail away from her. "Nick, please just  _stop_."

"I'd listen to your partner, Wilde," Bogo commanded over the radio, instantly silencing the discussion and arguments happening over multiple radios at once.

"So, what about you Chief?"

It was the last straw for the bunny, who undid her seatbelt and jumped for the radio in Nick's paw. They felt the car swerve as Delgato did his best at avoiding the two wrestling over the radio on the center console, while Fangmeyer began laughing in earnest.

"Nick, give it to me!" Judy yelled as the fox pushed his paw against her head to keep her away from it, her paws now swiping nothing but air in front of his muzzle. The rabbit growled as she switched tactics and grabbed a hold of his paw, twisting it just enough to cause pain, but nothing lasting. In the same moment she twisted, she jumped down onto the vulpine's stomach while pulling on his paw, turning him into a sudden V-shape. She lunged for the radio while Nick was winded, just as he managed one last broadcast.

"Roger that sir," he wheezed as Judy's paws found the radio. "We'll be heading back to the station just as soon as my partner stops being all pawsy with me."

The cab of the car went deathly silent, and even over the radio, nothing could be heard. Although, if the smirk Nick had could speak, it could have been heard all the way to Bunnyburrow and back.

Judy's mouth dropped and Nick would almost call the squeak she made as cute as he handed her the radio and went back to his seat, buckling himself in. "Hey Carrots, don't you know that being unbuckled in a moving vehicle is a safety violation? You could get Stripes here in a lot of trouble for it."

Knowing what was to come, Fangmeyer gently took the radio out of Judy's paws and placed it back onto the front console as the rabbit slowly turned to face her partner.

"Nick...that was an open radio to all units on patrol…" her voice was a mortified whisper and both a blush and furious scowl appeared on her face.

"I knew that, Carrots," he grinned while winking at her. "Now buckle up, I wouldn't want to ticket you for...gah!"

Nick couldn't finish his sentence as Judy leapt atop him, yanking at his tie while Fangmeyer tried his best to pull the angry lagomorph off the fox.

"Need to breathe...Carrots!" Nick gasped as she yanked on his tie.

* * *

They arrived at Precinct 1 not a moment too soon, and as the car came to a stop, a furious Judy stomped out, with a sorry looking Nick following behind her, his drooping tail and sagging ears making him look much sadder than he felt.

Had it been worth ticking Judy off just to see what the Precinct's reaction would be to them coming in?

He'd know in a few seconds if it was.

"WILDE! HOPPS! DELGATO! FANGMEYER! My OFFICE NOW!"

Glaring at her partner one final time, the bunny marched up to Bogo's office, followed slowly by her partner.

As soon as the foursome entered Bogo's office, the buffalo slammed the door shut, walking over to his desk with an irritated growl before dropping heavily into his seat, his hoof rubbing his forehead.

"And here I was thinking that sending you off to Bunnyburrow would have kept you  _out_  and  _away_  from trouble."

Nick shrugged his shoulders. "It was a good plan, Chief. It just so happens that the perps didn't agree with us skipping town on them."

Bogo levelled a single hoof at the fox. " _Don't_  even start with me today, Wilde." He glared at the vulpine, and although his eyes showed a fierceness behind them, the usual fire and brimstone was lacking. Nick looked down, then noticing the wrinkled uniform, the several empty cups of coffee, as well as nearly a dozen styrofoam cups in the trash. The Chief must have pulled an all nighter at the station to keep up with the crisis out in Bunnyburrow and just that fact alone gave Nick pause in further angering their boss who had apparently been up all night for them.

When Bogo noticed Nick become tight lipped, he levelled his gaze upon a stack of papers at the edge of his desk.

"As it would seem that you two can't stay out of trouble when you're away from the station, and I can't put either of you on patrol as apparently the latest  _celebrities_ of Zootopia are the two of you thanks to that smooching spectacle that has been plastered everywhere…" he hardened his glare at them as he pulled forward over his desk. "So...it would appear that the only way you two can be of any good to me at this point is by filling out all the paperwork you created the over past fortnight."

"Wait...that's it?"

Bogo snorted, then looked down at his smallest officer. The bunny had a very expectant expression, somewhere between amusement and worry. "You're not going to threaten to take our badges? Or suspend us for…"

"Doing your jobs?" Bogo finished for her. Judy halted mid sentence, jaw dropping.

"Wha…?"

"You two did precisely what I would have expected out of my officers," Bogo began, while placing reading glasses upon his muzzle. "You were presented with a dangerous criminal, managed to keep civilian casualties and injuries to a minimum…"

"But he got away, Sir!" Judy stammered.

"And why was that, Hopps?"

Several seconds passed as the rabbit was at a loss for words. She didn't know if he meant the question as a 'gotcha' moment, ready to spring a hidden verbal trap on them, or if something else was at play.

Apparently, Bogo decided to answer for her as he brought a paper up in his hooves and began to read from it.

"According to the statements you two gave at the scene, you not only showed more restraint when faced with a dangerous criminal than I would have done, but also when Mr Grey went savage, managed to corral him away from fairgoers and focused his entire assault on yourselves until Officer Wilde here restrained him."

Bogo cast a fleeting glance at the fox, whose ears lowered in what looked like shame.

"Oh, come off it Wilde! You think in  _that_  situation, when you had no equipment, I would have expected you to let a savage mammal  _eat_  your partner? In my mind, you did what you needed to do to contain the situation with minimal loss of life and limb. And did a fine job of it at that!"

"But sir," Nick began hesitantly, only to be cut off by a raised hoof.

"Whatever you are about to say, I don't care" Bogo snorted, before pointing at the other two mammals in the room. "If these two vouch for your actions, as well as those of your partner, then it wouldn't have mattered if you brought the HMS Furtanic down on that savage fox's tail if it neutralized him until your backup could arrive." The buffalo's eyes narrowed as he again looked at the fox. "So if you want to have a pity party, inviting all your friends and saying 'woe is me' for protecting thousands of lives at the cost of one half beaten savage fox, then you're free to leave at any time, as you'll  _not_  be hosting it in my precinct. Got it?"

"Sorry, sir" Nick muttered, ears still hanging low. Judy placed a paw on his shoulder, which seemed to bring him some comfort, before they heard a snort from Detective Delgato.

The tiger folded his arms. "Well, that was a first. Didn't know you had the word  _sorry_  in your vocabulary, Wilde."

"Shut it! Both of you!" Bogo hollered, before sighing heavily, rubbing his temples. "I want the four of you to take the rest of the day off. Whatever has gotten all of your knickers in a twist, I don't want it affecting the work of the other officers in my precinct."

"Sir, I have to object."

"What is it now, Hopps," Bogo muttered. The tiredness in his tone caused Judy to momentarily stop in her musings. Never had Bogo sounded so beaten.

"Sir," she began again, in a much more polite tone. "We know who did this, and I'm sure that Nick and I," she looked at her partner who raised an eyebrow at her. "I mean, Officer Wilde and I…"

"Just spit it out Hopps," Bogo rumbled. "I already know about you and Wilde being in a relationship thanks to Clawhauser and the nonstop news coverage of it, so as long as it doesn't affect your work starting tomorrow, _I don't care_." He waved a hoof idly in the air. "But do go on with whatever you were saying before as maybe it might have to do with something of  _actual_  importance to me."

In that moment, Judy couldn't help but smile. Looking back at Nick, even the fox was sporting a grin as both had expected the Chief to take the news of them being together a lot more...dramatically. Nick had even wagered that he might have an aneurysm when he heard the news. Now? He simply shrugged his shoulders, reached into his pocket and pulled a twenty from his wallet, passing it over to the rabbit who stuffed it into her own back pants pocket.

_I guess the phrase 'Bogo don't care' had to come from somewhere..._ Nick mused

"Chief," Judy began with a smile at again out-hustling her partner. "Nick and I would like to quickly head over to Harold Herdtrotter's place of residence and arrest him, or at least be a part of the TUSK unit to bring him in if a standoff ensues."

"I know this is personal Hopps, however…"

"It is  _more_  than that sir," Judy interrupted, clasping her paws in front of her. "Please let us take him in."

Sighing, Bogo pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry Hopps, but I cannot let you or Wilde be a part of that TUSK unit." He raised a hoof as the rabbit looked to reply. "I know that both of you completed your TUSK training at the academy with near perfect scores, however, even if you went to his home, I've already had units stationed there all night to inform me if he shows up." He looked down into the eyes of his officers. "He hasn't come home, which means there is nobody there to arrest."

Judy's ears wilted, as a slight 'oh' escaped her lips. Crestfallen, she sat back down in the oversized chair next to Nick, leaning against him in support as her bravado at facing down the Chief to earn Nick justice against his childhood bully, and now murderer, sank back down inside her.

"A warrant is being pushed through the DA's office, so hopefully we'll be able to search his home within the hour. But for now, I want you either to go home and rest, or…" he pushed the stack of paperwork across the table and towards them, "...you can do this today and  _not_ go home to rest."

His chair creaked as he leaned back into it, folding his arms across his chest. "So...Hopps, Wilde. What will it be - paperwork...or rest?"

With a quick look at each other, both Nick and Judy replied at the same time.

"Paperwork."

"Rest."

The two looked at each other, an argument ensuing as Bogo tried his best to tune it out.

_Not even a day into their relationship and they're already acting like Tamila and I after twenty years..._

* * *

_Earlier...215 miles away…_

The sun hinted its arrival through the closed curtains, a trickle of light flickering in upon the two mammals laying in the bed. One of them groaned, muttering in their sleep at the unwelcome intruder.

"What time is it, Jack?" the restless bunny murmured, moving so that her face was planted into her pillow to shut out the light. She could feel him moving next to her, most likely reaching for his phone, but was surprised when she felt his arms reach around her.

"Time for me to apologize again," he whispered into her ear, placing a light kiss upon it.

"I already told you," Jessica murmured into the pillow, "I forgave you at the bar last night and I already know you're prone to blurting out stupid things when you're worried. So stop it."

She could feel him tense next to her. "It doesn't excuse what I said," the buck whispered. "I hurt you, your family, and all because I couldn't think of what was most important to me, rather than my job."

At that, Jessica turned, smiling while looking into Jack's eyes as the buck frowned, shame filling his features. Gently cupping his cheek, she leaned forward to place a kiss upon his lips. "Which is why I forgive you," she cooed softly before nuzzling more deeply against him. She felt his paws on her shirt, tenderly rubbing her arm beneath it.

"I really don't deserve you," Jack muttered. "You're too forgiving of a dumb bunny like me."

Jessica giggled into the fur of his neck. "Well, we'll just have to work on that then."

Jack grinned, then nodded just as his phone on the bedstand next to them buzzed loudly. Jessica groaned, and Jack offered an apologetic smile as he reached for the phone and pulled himself up into a sitting position.

"Jack Pawson here," the rabbit mumbled as he stood in his rolled-up newspaper themed pajamas, which brought another giggle from Jessica. He nodded. "Uh huh...uh huh...alright."

He placed a paw over the phone and looked at the grey toned rabbit in the bed. "I'm going to have to take this... _sorry."i_

Jessica waved him away with her paws as he sent another apologetic smile and a wordless ' _thank you'_  as he went into the bathroom. The doe rolled her eyes as she herself stretched and let out a loud yawn before settling back into the bed, closing her eyes in simple relaxation. She had gone to the bar last night to tear into Jack, wondering if she'd be able to put her Bun Fu lessons to good use after he had the gall to ask for her to meet him there.

Instead, what she had found was a nearly inconsolable rabbit, one who barely could look her in the eye when she arrived at his table and slapped him with all her might. For nearly an hour she tore into him, venting all her frustrations out upon him as he simply took it, growing more melancholic with each passing minute.

In the middle of one of her diatribes, she had seen him mumble a few words under his breath….

_"What was that, you piece of squash?" Jessica roared._

_"I...I know you have no reason to forgive me," Jack muttered._

_"You got that right," Jessica huffed, glaring him down. For the first time in an hour, he caught her gaze with his own._

_"Until I give you a reason to at least…"_

_His reply caught Jessica off guard to say the least. She had expected him to apologize for a much longer time, and she was looking forward to throwing it back in his face when he did._

_Jessica's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean...a reason?"_

_The male rabbit sighed, his paws trembling at his sides. "I...I called my boss and said I couldn't do the interview."_

_Silence enveloped the two for nearly a minute before Jessica stood up, slamming her fists onto the table._

_"You...WHAT?"_

From that point, it had been a much calmer discussion, and Jessica was surprised as Jack began listing off item and item and point after point why she deserved somebody better than himself, and how this would be the last time she saw him so she could be happy.

Jessica smiled at the memory of what happened next, humming energetically as she recalled just how the rest of the night had led to this morning. They had left the bar before either had enough to be considering tipsy, then finally had decided to talk out all their problems and issues the rest of the night at Jack's hotel room. Both had wound up falling asleep sometime in their discussions, but only after they had decided that they'd both work through any problems, or stupid comments, said in the future...together.

A sound from the bathroom brought her out of her memories as the door clicked open.

"Who was that?" Jessica asked, looking at Jack curiously as the rabbit just stared at his phone. "Something wrong?" she asked after a minute of silence.

"It was my boss," Jack finally managed. "He said he needed me to do the interview and wouldn't accept me saying no."

"What did you say?" Jessica wondered, a small part of her brain wondering if Jack had said yes or no and if he would be soon looking for another job.

"I told him no, but he wouldn't accept my answer," he replied. "Then, before I could say anything else, he told me the interview was already set up for a month from now."

"That's great," Jessica stated, though lacking any sort of her cheer as her ears fell behind her back. "I'm sure…"

"I can't face them."

Jessica halted. "...can't face who?"

"Officers Hopps and Wilde," Jack replied, his paw holding his phone shuddering. "Not after what I said...not after what I did. I have no right to even be close to them after the pain I put your family through with my words."

Feeling the waves of sorrow coming from the reporter, Jessica slid out of bed, grateful that her extra long shirt covered her fully, before walking slowly over to Jack and embracing him in a tender hug.

"It's a month away," Jessica cooed into his ears, stroking them like she would her younger siblings when they were feeling sad. "I'm sure they'll forgive you by then."

"And if they don't?" Jack spluttered.

"I'll try talking to them," the doe replied.

Jack simply nodded. The two stood there, holding each other for several minutes until Jack no longer was shaking and Jessica could tell he was no longer at the verge of tears.

"The location was a bit strange though," Jack finally stated, confusing Jessica. She pulled away to look into his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

The reporter shook his head. "Well, usually an interview would be either at the interviewee's place of work, their home, or at the studio but…"

"But what, Jack?"

Jack paused before looking in Jessica's eyes. "My boss said that it was being sponsored by Furzer Pharmaceuticals and would be taking place at their labs."

"That's a strange place for an interview," Jessica mumbled. "I wonder why they want it - eep!" Jessica was caught off guard as she felt herself pulled closer to Jack. She grinned as she felt him nuzzling her cheek with his own, letting out a contented purr.

It was Jack's turn to be surprised next when he felt himself being lifted off the ground and thrown onto the bed.

"What?" he blubbered, staring in shock at the doe standing in front of him that was giggling loudly. "...how?"

Jessica sashayed towards her, making sure her hips swayed with each step. "Have you already forgotten something about Hopps' females?"

Without thinking, Jack blurted, "I've forgotten a lot of things, apparently."

Another giggle from Jessica as she reached the bed. "Well, when you grow up with 145 brothers on a farm, you learn how to pull your own weight and learn how to tussle as well as the boys. It's kind of a necessity, though Judy and I took it the most seriously."

Jack gulped as Jessica hopped onto the bed, staring him down. "Now…" she cooed. " _You..._ have something you need to do for me…"

"What would that be?" he replied nervously, looking at the female rabbit towering over him.

"You," she started, leaning down as she began tracing her fingers up his bare chest, "...need…" her fingers stopped just below his chin as she lifted his head closer to her own. "...to make…"

Jack could barely concentrate as he could feel her breath against his facial fur, and desperately wanted to kiss her at that moment.

Jessica grinned at him before letting him fall back to the bed. "...amends with my parents."

Jack blinked at her as she hopped off the bed, grinning viciously at him. "You heard me! Stop staring at my tail and get your shirt on. You have some apologies to make."

Jack groaned, but complied, finding his shirt right where he left it the night before and put it on.

_How do I keep getting myself into these messes_ …? he thought. Believing he could make amends with Jessica's parents, he darted out the door after her. What began concerning him though, was why his boss was so insistent on him doing the interview, as well as the second point he had brought up.

_Why of all places does it need to take place at Furzer labs?_

 


	32. Panic at the Safehouse

 

Judy won the argument over whether paperwork or rest would win out. Nick knew she would, and silently agreed with her, though only kept up the pretense of arguing for inherent laziness because he enjoyed seeing how she looked flustered. It was a sight he was used to seeing by now. He always considered it a good sign. Doubtless, she knew his ways by now after all their long shifts and the many teases he had made. Whether she was playing along or actually flummoxed by his antics didn't really matter; they had the same fun either way.

When he  _finally_  "gave in" to them working on paperwork the rest of the day, he was rewarded for his 'correct choice' with a kiss from the bunny once they had reached the general solitude of their office and shut the door. It may be that everyone Zootopia-wide knew that they were dating, but there was no need to provide fuel for extra office jibes. As sure as carrot season in the burrows, those would be coming soon enough.

Not much paperwork was finished that first half hour until Wolford came to check on them and just as quickly left, quite mortified at the two snickering mammals he left in his wake.

Judy wondered if it was the first time the wolf had ever seen a rabbit brushing a fox's tail before. Knowing the state of Zootopia and how much the media was going gaga over them at the moment, probably  _no mammal_  had seen it before.

When they first arrived at their office after nearing a week of being away from it, they were shocked to find that not only were the papers that Bogo gave them supposed to be filled out by them, but they found their desks covered in small piles, each apparently organized by each day they were gone. Their file folders were filled to the brim, and even their chairs had some papers left on them as the desk space was gone.

Yet after hours of diligently working at the massive pile of paperwork, which only seemed to grow as they attempted to organize it, it seemed as if they had barely made a dent in the amount they had to go through. During the brief time they had been away from the office, they had almost forgotten how much they loathed ZPD paperwork. This was a stern reminder.

Throughout it all, Judy periodically caught Nick simply staring at her for minutes at a time, eyes unfocused even though he was clearly looking at her. Each time, as soon as she'd caught his gaze, he'd turned back to his paperwork silently and without acknowledging his behaviour beyond an occasional hint of a smile or flick of his ears. At first, she thought it was just his usual admiration, but the seriousness in his expression meant that she didn't quite know what to make of it.

A few hours in, and Bogo had knocked on their door, surprising them while asking for each to come to his office separately for their statements about the attack in Bunnyburrow. Luckily for them, they had long desisted with the tail stroking by this stage. It wasn't the surprise of his visit that had startled Judy, but more the reaction from Nick.

The fox had literally jumped in his seat, grasping at where his police baton would have been had they not come directly from their exile in Bunnyburrow to the station without time to change into their proper gear. Both herself and Bogo gave the fox odd looks, hers of worry and his of slight bemusement at finally startling his only fox officer. He would never say it, but the chief now had something  _he_  could scratch off the bucket list; Nick Wilde flustered.

That was, until Nick simply laughed it off, saying that he thought his Aunt Gertrude was visiting him as she looked surprisingly like Bogo. Bogo had simply snorted and pointed towards his office, muttering for Judy to follow him as he'd be taking her statement first.

She hadn't missed the falling of her partner's ears, or the way his nose twitched at her leaving. The fox almost looked crestfallen.

As 9pm rolled by, and after page after page of signing off on witness statements, procedural paperwork, copies of warrants and lab results, they were finally able to see each other over the mounds of paper and ink without having to lean back in their seats to attain a chance glance. It had almost been an internal game to pass the time, gradually revealing more and more of their partner as they worked down the pile.

Judy was starting to wonder about Nick by that point, as she had secretly been checking up on him every now and then. The fox seemed more anxious than was normal. He was usually able to hide the majority of any unease from even her behind his masks and built up facade of emotional obliviousness but...

...she could tell that  _something_  was getting to him.

With a large portion of their paperwork finished, Nick let out a large groan. "We're going to be doing this for a long while," Nick drawled, stretching his arms behind him as he heard several pops issuing from his back. "Hopefully the TUSK crew will have to fill the rest of it when they capture our perp."

Judy nodded slowly, eyes closed as she simply enjoyed the feeling of finally finishing off the mountain of paperwork. "I wouldn't mind seeing him taken down though," she finally mentioned after several minutes of quiet between them, tapping on the table surface as she imagined  _exactly_ what she would like to do to the zebra. She cracked one eye open and looked at Nick with her paws behind her head. "For someone who has caused you so much grief in your life, I'd think you'd like to be the one to bring him in."

Nick shook his head. "I've learned from a certain rabbit not to let the past control me, or decide my future." He seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if pondering something, but then he turned to Judy and winked. "I think it is fairly good advice from a cute little bunny, wouldn't you say, Carrots?"

He laughed at the pout that was on Judy's face before she too broke into a sly grin. "Alright Slick, that was your  _one_  use of that word for this week."

Nick feigned shock as he placed a paw over his chest. "But what if we run across a mother and an absolutely adorable baby in a stroller who asks if her baby is, dare I say it...cu-"

In a quick movement, Judy jumped from her chair and onto Nick's lap, causing both their chairs to spin at the sudden movement. She grabbed a hold of his tie and with a wicked smile stated, "Then you'll have to think of another word to say besides cute." She patted him on his cheek before hopping back off the chair, causing it to spin even faster. "I'm sure you can think of one, Slick!" she laughed as the fox braced himself against his desk to stop his chair, and now his world, from spinning.

"Yes, bunny," he replied, woozily getting to his feet as the ground seemed to be shifting. "Geez Carrots, how fast did you spin that thing?" Nick asked as he put a second paw on the desk and closed his eyes. He successfully suppressed the mild frustration in his voice, and she didn't seem to notice his change of tone.

With his eyes closed he didn't see the shrug, nor the huge grin Judy wore. "You must be getting  _old_ if you think that was fast Nick. Maybe you should start working at the DMV."

* * *

With both the fox and the rabbit still being under watch in case Harold decided to attack them once more, Detectives Fangmeyer and Delgato informed them that they were now their official partners until the zebra was behind bars, and would be their escorts, even coming with them on patrol, or at least following nearby in another vehicle. It annoyed Judy to think that all these resources were being wasted on them, however, after a brief talk with Nick about it, the fox managed to convince the bunny it was for the best. For now, at least.

The detectives nodded their goodbyes as they dropped the two officers off at their temporary abode, only driving off when the pair disappeared inside the complex. As they entered the brightly lit interior, nodding at the tiger officer on duty at the entrance as they passed, they were only partially able to relax once they reached the secrecy of the elevator, and only finally loosen their nerves fully as Nick shut their door behind them.

A huge sigh of relief left Nick as he slumped against the door, the weight of their trip to Bunnyburrow finally making its presence known in his mind. The fox closed his eyes and nodded his head to his chest, trying to make sense of the flood of information that washed over him in torrents.

Judy, for her part, was only interested in one thing at this moment...a shower. They hadn't had one after the scuffle at the festival, and after four hours in the car with three other mammals and the windows closed, followed by a full day of paperwork in a muggy office, she was just  _hoping_  that some of the smell would come out of her fur.

"Hey Nick, I call dibs on the bathroom!" she yelled over her shoulder as she headed towards her room. The fox's grunt of a reply showing his acceptance as she darted through the doorway was uncharacteristic of him.

She paused just as she was about to turn the corner into the hallway towards their rooms. "Nick…"

The fox shot round to look at her. "Yes, Carrots?" he snapped. He noticed Judy flinch at his curt reply. His shoulders sagging, he glanced quickly at the floor, then raised his head to barely meet her gaze, looking a little ashamed. "Sorry, what were you saying?"

"I…" Judy hesitated. Something  _was_  wrong with Nick. In all the times they'd been partners he'd never snapped at her like that. In fact, the only other time she could think of when he'd even raised his voice in the manner he just had was at her disastrous press conference. "I just wanted to see if you wanted the first shower."

Nick shook his head. "No, you take it," he replied, rubbing his paws together. "I'll give you fifteen minutes for it before I come in after you."

Judy blushed and was expecting for Nick's laughter to ring through the air after such a flirtatious comment, but…

It never came.

He simply stood there, frozen in place like one of the marble statues of ancient times she had seen in the city's museum, a nervous smile etched on his face. "What are you waiting for Judy? Take your shower."

Judy paused, watching him with worry for several moments. Should she stay and try and find out what was eating at him? Would that just upset Nick further or was she simply overreacting and being an  _emotionally_ charged dumb bunny? She hated making decisions like that, but it wasn't always the right choice to force someone to speak if they didn't want to.

Finally deciding on a course of action, she surprised him by running towards him, and before he could even raise his ears in alarm she had him gripped about his waist in a tight, yet comfortable hug.

"I'm here for you Nick," she spoke softly into his chest as she felt his already fast heartbeat quicken. She looked up into his face for a second before retreating back the way she was headed before, hoping that the quick embrace and her words would satisfy whatever was gnawing on her partner for the time she would be in the shower.

In her second rush to the shower, she failed to notice Nick fidgeting nervously in the front room, before he left to check, then  _double_  check the locks on their door before making his way to the window.

Judy entered her bedroom and in a flurry of motion, grabbed a set of clean clothes and heading into their shared bathroom through her room's entrance. Not even bothering to lock the doors, she quickly unclothed and hopped into the shower, supremely grateful as the warm water gushed over her grey fur. The one good thing about them having been away in the burrows was that he hadn't managed to turn the shower down to its coldest setting the way he sometimes had done as a morning surprise for her. That trick had grown almost beyond a joke a few times...

_Ah...so much better_...Judy thought, allowing the water to rinse away not only the grime and dirt, but the thoughts and worries of the previous few days. Even though she wanted to enjoy this moment, she still wanted to finish quickly so that she could make sure that Nick was alright.

His behavior was starting to worry her.

Her worries were much harder to clean than her fur it seemed, as no matter how much she tried to focus on other things while scrubbing, she couldn't help but focus on what they had gone through together the past few days. One thought was standing out more than others though…

_How much is this really affecting Nick?_

It was a simple question, with a not so easy answer. She had grown accustomed to some of the telltale signs that could give away what he was truly feeling underneath his many masks. Yet, since their time spent on the hill under the tree and the stars, his latest mask had been flawless. Not a single ear twitch to give away how he might have been feeling underneath his charming grin and twinkling eyes. Until this afternoon, she hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary.

And  _that_  was what worried her the most. Probably the biggest and most personal storm to invade his life, and he goes on as if the hurricane beating on them was just a light summer breeze.

_He'd tell me if something was bothering him, right?_  Judy wondered as she grabbed a brush from the shower caddy and began to stroke out the shampoo from her fur.  _I mean, I hope he trusts me enough to tell me if he was feeling off._

The fox had made huge leaps and bounds in the trust department, and with his latest revelations he had made, not only to her, but to her parents as well, he must have finally broken down his barriers against trusting others.

Right?

She paused in her brushing. Sure Nick had made quite an improvement in trusting others, however, maybe that wasn't the right question to be asking herself. Her thoughts were temporarily lost as she heard random noises coming from the hallway and Nick muttering to himself. She shook her head, focusing back in on previous thoughts as she heard Nick talking about 'stubbed toes' on 'dumb doors'.

Judy made a note to kiss his injuries better when she vacated the shower before fully going back to her thoughts and brushing the final bits of soapy residue from her fur.

_If I just found out that my childhood bully was wanting to kill me, and my best friend...how would I react if I were Nick?_

She dwelled on the question. It gave her the chills just thinking about it, even with the hot water cascading down from above. She  _had_ a childhood bully, and many times had nightmares of that moment of him towering over her, his claws slashing down at her face, only to do so again and again until she'd wake up in a frightened panic. But Gideon had only attacked her once. From what Nick had told her and her parents, this zebra had verbally assaulted him for  _years…_

_What would I do if I were Nick..._

"I'd hide it," Judy finally stated aloud, realizing  _why_  Nick had seemed so off earlier. He must have been burying his emotions, or at least trying to hide them from her, just like his motto told him to.  _I wouldn't want others to get hurt by my past, so I'd bury it as deeply as I could inside me…_

The thought tore at Judy's heart, and for a moment she couldn't tell if there were tears joining the water cascading down her cheeks. Just the idea that he was trying to put all of the weight of decades of pain onto himself in order to protect  _her_ , made her want to both kiss him for how much he cared about keeping her safe, and yell at him for hurting himself in the process.

A crash from beyond the bathroom door and the sound of glass shattering quickly drew her attention from her thoughts. Fully alert, ears pointed towards the sound even through the noise of falling water, she heard the rough noise of what sounded like a scuffle from the kitchen.

"Nick!" she hissed urgently, violently ripping open the shower curtains. Not even pausing to turn off the stream of water, she jumped out of the shower and only stalled long enough to wrap herself in a towel as she flung the door to the bathroom open and raced down the hall, leaving damp pawprints in the carpet.

"Nick, are you ok!" she gasped as she ran into the front room. Her gaze quickly went to the window, grateful to see that it was intact and that nobody had come through that way. She was more concerned though, when she didn't even see her partner anywhere and that the noises seemed to have stopped.

_Could he be already..._

"Hey Slick," she said hesitantly, while carefully approaching the kitchen. She grabbed her baton from her uniform belt that was sitting on a nearby set of drawers, nervously holding it in her paw as she flicked it open. She only took another step forward when it clicked into place when she heard some shuffling and groaning in the kitchen. She turned the corner into the kitchen quickly. "Are you…"

Her baton dropped to the tile floor, clattering as it chipped the cheap surface.

On the floor before her lay Nick, curled up into the fetal position with his tail wrapped around his body like a living, shivering blanket. His breath was errant and erratic, huffing and breathing in haphazardly and at such a pace that it almost matched that of her own quick beating heart.

_"Nick!"_  Judy scampered over to her partner, sliding on her knees as she placed a paw over his ears, trying to calm the hyperventilating fox. "It's ok...you're ok. Breathe...you got this. Breathe normally."

"I...can't," Nick gasped out between breaths, his body shaking with each rasp. "...can't...can't...I…I...I..."

Before Judy knew what she was doing, she found herself forcibly pulling apart his arms which were wrapped so tightly around himself that his claws had dug into his skin, little tendrils of red glistening on his russet colored fur. She set herself over his chest as his arms pulled close again, now enfolding both of them. Her paws gently caressed his neck fur, a move that she had learned he seemed to enjoy over the past week. The pressure from his grip on her back was lung-crushing, but Judy pushed through it, continuing to hold him close while brushing Nick's ears.

"Then just focus on me," Judy hushed, trembling both due to the cool air on her wet fur, as well as from her worry over what she was witnessing.

Nick...her partner, the fox who never let anyone get to him, was having a panic attack on such a level she hadn't seen any mammal have before. She'd helped several of her siblings through similar attacks, including one where she caught one of her sisters, who was worried sick about her college entrance exams, and had nearly fallen down a flight of stairs.

But Judy had never seen anyone actually injure themselves during one, as the thin lines of crimson meshed onto his fur bearing tribute to that.

"Match my breaths, Nick. Come on, breathe with me now…" Judy soothed, tenderly rubbing his neck as she took long steady breaths. "Come on...breath with me Nick."

She couldn't keep track of the time, nor did she want to risk glancing at the clock, as if it would only elongate the time of Nick's pain, as she sat caressing his violently throbbing neck while hoping that his attack would disappear soon. It wasn't until what felt like an eternity later that his breathing returned to a rather raspy rate that, while still uncontrolled, was much more tempered than even a few minutes earlier.

_"I can't do this…"_  he whimpered, ears drooping behind him as Judy felt his heartbeat suddenly spike again.  _"I can't do this anymore…"_

"Yes you can, Nick," Judy calmly stated while cupping his cheek in her paw. "Remember, we're in this together. We'll do  _this_ ," she waved her paw around the room before pointing between them, "together."

Her words didn't seem to resonate as Nick again began to hyperventilate, his body shaking once more as Judy picked her brain apart for an idea that could help soothe the fox.

"Nick, remember what happened at the police academy when you had your first break halfway through?"

The fox tremulously nodded, whether from his shakes or in actual recognition, Judy couldn't tell. So she kept going.

"Remember how I came to visit you? And you were so surprised when I showed up with an air horn at 5:30am and woke everyone up that day instead of Ursula? Do you remember what your bunkmate Padfoot's face looked like?"

A slight hitching sound came from Nick's throat, sounding almost like the beginnings of a sneeze, yet for some reason Judy could tell he was trying to laugh even through his quickened breaths. She could hear his heartbeat slow just slightly, so decided to continue with the story, all the while stroking his ears, every now and then scratching at the base of them if she felt his breathing spike.

"That poor wolf looked like he had seen a ghost when he saw me. Then you just casually strolled over and ruffled my ears asking,  _'How's it going Fluff?'_." Judy shook her head, smiling at the memory. "Padfoot about fell over in shock seeing that we were friends, and that he was the bunkmate to...what was it he said I was?" Judy switched her voice to a much deeper bass. "The most famous officer in Zootopia and, quote, 'my personal icon'? You did your best at keeping him from hugging me the entire day, and I remember thinking it was so thoughtful of you to do that for me."

Judy chuckled at the memory, and was surprised to be able to hear Nick laugh slightly as well, even if it was tremulous at best. Even though his breath still caught every few seconds, he was finally recomposing himself, albeit slowly.

Slowly was better than not at all at this rate.

Judy 'hmmed' at the memory then laughed to herself as one of her paws found a spot behind Nick's left ear that caused his tail to wag.

"Oh, you like that?" Judy giggled, as Nick's heart rate continued to slow, and was now almost back to normal. Leaning further into his shirt and neck fur, she placed a light kiss upon the spot, watching as his tail wagged all the more.

"I think you're tail likes me."

"I...I, li-like you more," Nick chattered, his breath labored and speaking obviously causing him pain. He raised his paw to her cheek in a painful looking smile. "My-y-y Carrots. Not..m-y-y tail's."

Nick licked his parched lips after finishing his raspy sentence, breath hitching every little while.

Noticing what he did, as well as how he was starting to pant, Judy slowly brought herself up to her feet, pulling herself from his arms reluctantly to fetch a glass of water for her partner, when she was tugged back towards him.

"Do...on...n't leave...yet."

His whimper was so soul tugging she almost went back to him. However, she knew that he would need to drink liquids quickly to recover from his attack, and if he didn't, his body could suffer actual physical damage from the extreme exertion his body had just gone through.

"I'm just getting some water for you," Judy soothed, her eyes radiating warmth as they caught his own fearful gaze. Her paw gripped his own for several seconds until he nodded quickly, his breathing still erratic, though he did let her go. It was less than fifteen seconds later, and fifteen seconds  _too_  long in Judy's opinion, that she was again by his side, giving him the glass of water which he downed eagerly, water dribbling at the corners of his lips and down his neck from residual shakes. She went back and refilled the glass three more times until he finally shook his head at the fourth offered cup, body only occasionally trembling from the earlier spasms.

"Thank you," he muttered breathlessly, though with a lot less tension while trying to grin at Judy as the bunny placed the glass on the floor away from them, not wanting to leave Nick's side nor risk either of them toppling it and scattering broken glass across the floor. As soon as the mug was on the floor, she was wrapped around him again, snuggled into his chest as before as he leaned up against the cupboard behind him.

"You're welcome," she breathed into his chest as she resumed her tight hold upon him. "Just remember...I'm  _always_  here for you."

She felt him nod, then slowly wrap his own arms around her as well. Together, they simply stayed there on the floor in the kitchen, night falling around them, neither of them caring that the lights remained on, Judy sitting in his lap as Nick curled around her until both fell asleep.

It was the most peaceful rest that either had ever known.

* * *

The sun was still far from rising when the fox began to wake, stirring fitfully and groaning as he went to stretch and found his body stiff and sore in so many places. It felt like he had gone twelve rounds with a rhino then had gone for a run in Tundratown at how cold the air felt around him. Noticing  _where_  he was laying brought back a wave of memories of  _why_  he was curled up on the kitchen tile floor of their temporary living space and  _why_  a certain grey bunny lay curled up on his chest, the most adorable smile gracing her lips while every now and then a simple, soft cooing sound escaped her lips.

Not wanting to wake her, but still wanting to be closer to the bunny, Nick wrapped his arms around her slumbering form, gently rubbing her ears for several moments. He heard a small purr come from the doe before she squirmed in his grasp, eyelids fluttering open slightly, followed seconds later by her rubbing her eyes mechanically and attempted to stretch against Nick's arms that were still surrounding her.

"Morning Judy."

The rabbit attempted to stifle her yawn, but it came out anyways, causing Nick to chuckle at just how wide she could open her mouth, as well as at the tiny, almost imperceptible 'eep' she made before the yawn finished.

"I've told you that you look absolutely adorable when you do that, right?" Nick grinned while she smacked her lips tiredly, grinning slightly as her eyes were still half-lidded.

Judy nodded groggily. "Mmhmm...you have." Judy again snuggled into his chest, causing Nick to cough into his paw.

"Have I also told you that your towel is slipping off?"

Judy sleepily went to nod again when her eyes suddenly popped open.

" _Oh sweet cheese and crackers!_ "

The bunny gasped, nearly falling off of Nick's chest as she went to wrap her towel tighter around her, blushing the entire time as Nick turned his head, giving her the largest amount of privacy he could considering where they were and how they were situated. When the knot was sufficiently taught on her bath towel, Judy looked back at Nick, petting back her ears while giving him a weak smile.

"Thank you...and I'm so sorry Nick," she muttered, brushing back her ears for a second time. "Last night you were just acting so strange, and then I heard that crash and I just ran out here and I didn't think about dressing and…"

Nick placed a single finger on her lips. "Carrots, it's ok."

"But it isn't," Judy moaned. "It's improper of me."

"Judy," Nick calmly stated, cupping her cheek with his paw when she tried to look away in embarrassment. "You did the right thing. I...needed help, and you jumped into action. You were just being yourself." He moved his paw from her cheek to her ears, tenderly holding both of them in his open paw. "You were being  _you_. There is no need to apologize for that, and I wouldn't have you any other way."

Judy blinked once before Nick enveloped her in a hug. After a few seconds, and a hidden sniffle from the bunny, she did the same.

"Thank you Nick."

"Thank  _you,_ Judy."

The two held the hug for as long as they needed to, both seeming to know when to pull away. "I'm sorry I didn't try and talk to you before your panic attack. I knew something was wrong, but I left you when you needed me the most."

"Do you need to apologize?" Nick interrupted, shaking his head slightly. "No, no you do not. I wasn't in a talking mood last night as you noticed, so I would have just brushed you off, or worse, made some cutting remarks that would have hurt  _you_  as well."

"But…" Judy stammered, only again to be silenced by Nick as he again placed a finger over her mouth. Judy frowned, folding her arms across her chest at the motion.

"No buts," Nick stated matter of factly, crossing his own arms while grinning down at her. The two seemed to be mirrors of each other, as both sat on the floor facing each other, arms folded, though one wore a smirk, while the other, a frown. "It was my fault for holding everything in like I did until the stress got to me." He looked away for a moment, his smirk fading to a frown to match Judy's own, which had just as suddenly morphed into a look of confusion.

She stared at him as he seemed to be looking at everything and nothing at once. Like a fishermammal staring at an dry lake hoping to spot a fish jump.

"How many?"

Her comment seemed to jerk him out of his listlessness. "What was that, Fluff?"

"How many of those have you had? That couldn't have been your first with how you're acting now. I know you don't like revealing much about your past but...I need to know so I know how to help in the future." Judy gently placed a paw upon his arm as she gazed into his eyes.

A heavy sigh let itself out as Nick's ears drooped slightly.

"Seventh."

Judy's eyes widened. "But I thought you said never…"

"I know what I said," Nick stated bluntly, a hint of remorse etching his words. "Never let them see that they get to you, but, that doesn't mean that things don't build up after a while." Nick looked away, then back again met Judy's gaze. "I just tried to hide as best I could before they hit. After the first three or so, I could feel them coming and make my way out to my bridge where nobody would see me. Most of these I had when I was first hustling on the streets, back when the city held much more ill will towards foxes and I wasn't the handsome and devilishly smart tod you know today."

Judy groaned slightly at the attempted humor, rolling her eyes though she did give him a small kiss upon his lips. After they parted, Nick managed a wink and mischievous smile before continuing, feeling much warmer after Judy's so innocent yet agonizingly amazing kiss. "Back to the story," Nick coughed into his paw, trying to get the kiss out of his mind. "I think I had five of them those first few years. To begin with, they scared me quite a bit. Even scared Finnick when he found me during one of them."

Nick chuckled at the memory of the small fennec fox staring dumbly at him from the edge of an alley, with himself shaking violently behind a dumpster while tears flowed down his cheeks. It wasn't funny then, but it was slightly humorous now.

Only slightly though, as it had taken days to get the stench of rotting garbage off him when he knocked over a trash can filled with the remains of leftovers from the Bugga Burger across the street.

"He thought someone had sprayed me with Fox Away and didn't know what to do." Instantly, Nick found two arms wrapped around his chest. He didn't even need to look down to know that Judy was doing her best to share this moment with him and lessen his pain.

"It got better after that though," Nick continued. "Didn't have one for another eight years until after the skunk butt rug incident with Mr Big. Then this one now." Without him noticing, he saw both his paws had now made their way around Judy's body, holding the bunny in his arms.

The thought made him smile, that even this early in their relationship, he automatically reached for her when for the past few decades, he hadn't wanted to reach out to anyone. His mother, Skye, Finnick...he had let none of them in, yet when it came to this bundle of unstoppable force that was Judy Hopps, he let her in with no questions asked.

_You've changed me so much Judy. For that I can never repay you…but I will try starting now._

"I have to apologize for last night," Nick stated abruptly. His comment only caused Judy to hold him tighter.

"You have nothing to apologize for, you big, wonderful, dumb fox," Judy muttered into his shirt, her words half garbled by the fabric. Nick laughed, shaking the bunny' grip slightly.

"No, I do. I knew it was coming, so I wanted you to get away before you saw it." The fox noticed Judy's head pop up, her eyes now focused on his own with a look of incredulity.

"What...why?"

She shook her head before answering her own question. "Never let them see…"

"...that they get to you," Nick finished for her, nodding slightly.

A sudden force against his chest knocked the breath out of him and he fell backwards against the floor, groaning while rubbing his stomach.

"Don't  _ever_ do that again!" Judy growled, while straddling his stomach, shaking her paw at him. "Don't you go thinking that I can't handle something like this. I have nearly 300 brothers and sisters so I know a thing or two about how to help someone having a panic attack. I'm here for you, Nick. And you don't need to push me away...ever."

She emphasized the last word, staring down at the prone fox in a pose that would have made their primeval relatives laugh at a bunny staring down at her ancient enemy, who now appeared as a conquered foe. It would have been slightly mortifying if anyone was around to see it, Nick thought, though having his partner staring him down while sitting atop him was rather…

Nick scrambled to his feet, throwing Judy off of him in his stumbling to get to his feet. Before Judy could protest, Nick was laughing nervously.

"Sorry Judy, just realized I really need to be taking my shower. We have work and everything today and you need to get dressed as well so...!"

Judy could only stare blankly at him as the fox quickly walked out of the room, the door to the bathroom slamming shut behind him, leaving her mouth open in a mix of surprise and bewilderment.

"What in the carrot shavings was that about?" Judy wondered aloud, still sitting propped up on her arms as she stared at the now empty hallway.

On the other side of the bathroom door, Nick leaned against it, letting out a deep breath he had been holding in.

_I'm going to need a very cold shower…_

The fox quickly disrobed and hopped into the shower, making sure the water was on the coldest setting before blasting himself with its icy tendrils. He shivered as the first drops hit him.

_Yep...definitely needed this._

Judy waited outside the bathroom door, foot thumping in irritation. When she had raced out of the bathroom the night before, she had left her uniform inside and with the room now being occupied, she couldn't change as her other uniforms sat unwashed in her suitcase, which was functioning as her dirty clothes hamper for the moment. Thus it left her debating on whether she could sneakily open the door and grab them without Nick noticing, or if she should simply wait for the fox to finish before entering and retrieving them.

But then again,  _all_  her clothes she needed were in that pile, and Judy  _definitely_ didn't want him to see  _some_  of them. He'd be laughing for weeks if he saw a certain carrot printed item among her uniform pants and shirt.

The debate raged in her mind as she weighed the two options, all the while she grew more flustered and worried.

_I could easily sneak in there and grab them. And if he happens to spot me, it isn't like he didn't do the same to me. Fair play and all that. Besides...it isn't like I haven't seen a naked mammal before if I see him, right? I've seen more at the Naturalist Club than I would see of him behind a shower curtain…_

Her foot stopped its incessant thumping as her eyes slowly widened.

"The Naturalist Club…" she stated aloud, her ears shooting up. " _The Naturalist Club!"_

_Nick mentioned in his childhood that the yak that was a part of his troop was named Yax..._ she realized.  _If that is the same Yax as at the club…_

She jumped into the air, pumping her fist in excitement. "Then he might still be friends with our suspect and know where he is!"

Judy slammed the bathroom door open in her excitement, which pulled open so quickly it slammed against the inner wall creating a loud boom. Nick yelped in the shower, grabbing at the curtain while falling to the floor of the tub. Half of the fabric tore away from the hooks as the fox fell, wrapping him in the covering as water from the showerhead now sprayed in all directions, bouncing off the plastic and onto the walls and floor of the room, even spraying Judy with some of the droplets.

" _Nick!"_

"What!" Nick yelped, his head suddenly appearing out of the mass of blue toned plastic while being pounded from the cascading water. The sight of the sopping wet fox might have been cause to laugh if not for the news she needed to tell him.

"I think I know how we can find our suspect!"

"Great!" Nick moaned irritably. "You can let me know when I finish my shower, alright?"

In Judy's excitement, she had completely forgotten where she was, which was currently in their bathroom, her in nothing but a towel, and her partner slash boyfriend only wearing a curtain at the moment.

Which just happened to be semi-transparent. Thankfully the tub had high walls and with how Nick had fallen, nothing but his head was visible at the moment.

"Oh…" Judy blushed, shuffling a step back as her wide eyed partner stared at her. He nodded slowly, as if beckoning her to leave more quickly.

Judy looked at the annoyed fox surrounded by the now torn curtain, along with the growing puddle of water flooding the floor.

"I'll just...um…" Judy pointed out of the room, walking swiftly away, ears lowered as she shut the door behind her.

Nick sighed, then jumped when the door opened again.

"Sorry Nick," Judy mumbled, grabbing her clothes from the ground before again, shutting the door.

The fox stared at the door, then groaned, leaning against the wall of the shower while trying to unwrap himself from the curtains, all while freezing cold water ran down his face and swirled into the tub below.

"At least I know what it feels like to be on the other side of that now," he grumbled.

 


	33. Brief the Chief

 

After Nick's shower, the slightly annoyed fox grumbled his way to his room, quickly changing while Judy waited outside in the living room in her uniform, a constant blush stretching up her cheeks and along her ears. She hoped that the reaction she was currently having was what Nick had experienced when their places had been switched a week earlier.

When Nick finally joined her in the front room, his regular smirk gracing his muzzle instead of the hoped upon embarrassment or annoyance, she was slightly upset that he hadn't shared in her earlier, mortifying experience. When he walked up to her, paws behind his back, and gently placed a light kiss in between her ears, she was even more flummoxed by the casual ease in which he had taken in everything. If anything now  _she_  was feeling enough for  _both_  of them.

It wasn't until he finished the chaste kiss and whispered into her ears, their close proximity tickling the inside fur of them, that she felt like she'd explode from her raging emotions engulfing her.

"So...did you like what you saw Carrots?"

A bruised shoulder for him and a  _very_  embarrassing minute from her later, the two partners quickly decided that since they'd probably not be getting much more sleep as, according to the buzzing of Judy's alarm in her room, it was now 5:30am, they might as well head into the precinct to do work and follow up on their newest lead.

Informing the officer outside their door seemed to be more excitement than the officer standing outside their apartment had expected at that time of day. The wolf seemed quite surprised to see them awake at such an early hour, judging by both his awkward fumbling of his phone as well as the voice that sounded remarkably like Gazelle coming from it uttering, ' _Wow, you're one hot dancer Officer..._ ' coming from the device's speakers before he quickly turned the device off and thrust it into his pocket. The dark furred wolf grinned sheepishly before grabbing his radio, notifying the desk officer on duty that Officer Hopps and Wilde needed a pick up to head into the station.

Judy knew by the look on Nick's face that the fox couldn't contain whatever comment he was holding in for much longer as they walked towards the elevator, and was not surprised as he finally broke when the elevator doors closed behind them with Officer Jackson standing in front of them.

"Officer M Jackson, you are one hot dancer," Nick repeated in a singsong voice, busting up laughing as Judy rolled her eyes, pressing the button for floor one and simply resolving to groan as Nick guffawed the entire ride down.

Or, at least he would have until Officer Jackson, who was the other resident prankster at Precinct One, decided to live up to Nick's comment and began shuffling around indistinctly in the cramped space, his tail wagging at just the right height to tickle the fox's nose, who tried batting it away with no success.

Instead of laughing his way to the ground floor, Nick suddenly found himself sneezing for the entire ride, while Judy was now the one giggling madly. Nick fought off the wolf's bristly tail with a final sneeze as the doors opened and let the three mammals out of the confined space. The fox scowled all the way through the front lobby until they reached their escorts, a dozen scenario's already flashing through Nick's mind on how to prank Jackson back. He left Judy perplexed as they stepped into the unmarked cruiser, a grin spread across his face as an idea came to mind.

_I'll get you Jackson...and your little tail too!_

"Nick, what are you planning."

"Hmm?" He replied, reaching behind him with both paws as he crossed one leg over the other in quite the relaxed pose.

"I know that look. It's the same one you had when you stuck super glue on McHorn's radio, then called him."

Nick closed his eyes and laughed lightly. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Carrots." The fox could hear her ' _hmm'_  in annoyance, and could only imagine her crossing her arms and glaring at him. Eventually cracking one eye open a few minutes later, he noticed she was still looking at him.

"You still think I'm planning something?"

"Yes."

The answer came without any pause or hesitation on Judy's part.

 _Credit where credit is due_...thought Nick. "So...do you want in?"

Her answer came even quicker this time.

"Yes."

* * *

 

Walking into the precinct so early meant that there was no bubbly Clawhauser to greet them. Even the officers who had driven them, Moosson and Pawington, seemed to make the ride a little more dull as they didn't say a word to the tinier mammals in the backseat. So without any distractions besides each other, which caused more than a few eye rolls in the car ride over from stolen kisses they had given each other, the duo went straight to work. Filling up their mugs with 'precinct sludge', the nickname that the fox gave to the coffee provided to the station, they heading to their office and began tearing into the leftover paperwork from the night before. All the while discussing just how to bring up their new lead for the case to Chief Bogo while allowing them to follow up on it.

"Do you think that Bogo would let us investigate Yax without Delgato and Fangmeyer?" Judy asked. She already knew the answer before she even asked it, but still was hoping for a kernel of a miracle that the Chief would allow it. Nick killed that already dead and buried hope with a token shake of his head.

"Chief's mood is almost to the point where even I wouldn't push him too much, Carrots," Nick sighed. "He was quite sour yesterday, and unless he managed to grab some backstage passes for a Gazelle concert, I doubt he'll be feeling  _peppy_  enough to handle that request today either."

Judy snickered slightly, leaning back into her swivel chair. "I don't understand why everyone in this Precinct seems to have that app." Both smiled as she continued. "I mean, it's not like they  _all_  could be secret fans of her and trying to hide it like Bogo is attempting to do."

"Maybe they just all want to be hot dancers?" Nick replied, slurping his coffee, then grimacing as the foul, tarnished liquid slowly slid its way down his throat. Some days were better than others in drinking the stuff, but on other days like today, it felt like the coffee was so potent it was trying to claw its way back up his throat in an attempt to strangle him from the inside out.

Nick just sent her his trademark smirk through his gagging reflex and shrugged his shoulders. "You got me there, Fluff. But whatever mood Bogo chooses, dark and foreboding or foreboding and dark, I think either way we'll be hard pressed to get him to send us out again."

The fox wistfully signed off on another page of paperwork with a flourish before sliding it across his desk, dropping it into a bin just below the tabletop before drawing another one forward off the main pile.

"I doubt that Yax would do anything, as during our last one, and I had wished hopefully only, visit there he seemed completely at ease around you," Judy pointed out, tapping her carrot pen to her chin. "If he shared the same views as our suspect, then he would have at least scowled or shown some scorn towards you for just being a predator if he hadn't recognized you, which he didn't. I mean, with his memory, I don't think he would have forgotten you so-"

"Because I'm a fox and we all look alike?" Nick chimed in, arching an eyebrow while giving Judy a whimsical smirk. As Judy was about to splutter out an apology, her eyes wide and paws shaking in front of her, he simply laughed. "Easy there Carrots, I know what you meant, as  _well_ as what you said and I think with your statement we should probably  _still_  leave the presser's to your suave fox until we can train you in the art of bloviating in public." Nick laughed at the eyeroll Judy gave him, and continued. "I doubt that Yax is involved in any of this anymore, but like you said, maybe he might know something about Harold and who else may be helping him as I'm fairly certain he can't be doing all this on his own."

"Oh for sure," Judy replied, slipping into a rather impressive imitation of the yak. "He'll  _totally_  remember everything about our suspect."

Nick gave her a knowing look, shaking his head. "Carrots, why do you even need a recording pen when that brain of yours seems to remember everything just fine. That was, what...almost two years ago now?"

"It's good to have around so I can out hustle a certain former con-fox," she replied quickly with the barest hint of a smile. "I mean," she flicked the pen in her paw, giving him the silliest grin and wide eyes that both had seen in many of the city-does living around Zootopia. "I really live up to expectations of a dumb bunny by carrying around a carrot pen, don't I?" she repeated in a perfect Califurnia doe accent. Her amethyst eyes twinkled in amusement before narrowing at the smirk slowly appearing on Nick's face.

"Don't answer that," she muttered, pointing the pen at him, eyes narrowing further as Nick's lips had twisted into an even larger smirk.

"Why Officer, I don't understand what you accuse me of. I was just going to say how  _real_  that accent was and what a splendid job you did on it. It must come natural to such a talented actor as yourself."

"I know what you were going to say," Judy continued, pointing the pen at him. "And it wasn't going to be a compliment."

Nick leaned back in his chair. "And what would that be, Officer Fluff?"

"You know  _exactly_  what you'd say."

"Enlighten me, oh beautiful bunny, as to the cause of your glare towards your handsome fox," Nick replied with a charming smile and wave of his paw.

Just as she was about to reply, a sudden sharp rapping on their office door startled them from their conversation. Nick, whose desk was closer to the door, swiveled his chair enough to simply slide off and made it to the door in a few quick, mirthful steps.

When he opened the door and saw who was there, he wished that Judy had been the one to open it as he leaned his elbow against the doorframe.

"Why Chief, nice seeing you here so early. From that scowl it seems you've gotten your morning brew already. Has it tried to choke you as well today? It's fairly on the strong side, though I'm sure you might just strangle it back."

The buffalo merely grunted as he pushed past the fox into the room, shutting the door behind him. "I was going to call you once I reached my office. However," Bogo muttered as he passed a rather intimidating glare that would have caused near cardiac arrest in any normal mammal, but on the rabbit and fox it was merely called the Monday Morning Smile "I was informed by dispatch that you had already arrived at the station several hours ago."

Bogo took the liberty of stealing Nick's chair, gaining a frown from the fox and a rather large groan from the smaller seat, its arms leaning precariously out on their sides to hold a mammal of his size. The fox was hoping he wouldn't bend it any further, as he had just managed to break his chair in and was finally comfortable.

"I thought the both of you would appreciate an update on the situation from last night before the morning briefing." Several nods met his words and he grunted in approval. "As you know, the TUSK raid ended up with nothing on our suspect, which means he either hasn't arrived back in the city, or has already left. However, they did manage to find out several key pieces of information about him that he left behind."

"What were they sir?" Judy chimed in. "Knowing your enemy is half the battle isn't it?"

"I was just getting to those, Hopps, so if you would not interrupt..." Bogo snorted, nearly smiling at the nervous grin his response garnered from the rabbit.

_Nearly..._

"Turns out that after a background check on the suspect, our zebra has had a rather lengthy record of service in Precinct Three in Sahara Square with their own TUSK unit. Held several awards for his service, though was discharged on account of his brutal tactics in several TUSK raids, as well as accusations of assault on fellow officers. He had been transferred to desk duty at the equipment room before..."

Nick's ears perked up instantly, followed just as quickly by Judy's as she saw the alertness in Nick's eyes. "Sir," the fox began, "he didn't have any leftover police equipment at his apartment, did he?"

"No," Bogo grunted, eyes narrowing. "Why do you ask?"

"You may want to check Precinct Three's records on police scanners and radios, as I'm sure you'll come up short by about two..." Nick's voice grew softer as Bogo's gaze deepened on him, "...dozen..."

Both Judy and Chief stared at Nick, the former with a look of astonishment and the latter with a withering, burning gaze that could have set fire to water, which Nick surmised might just be how the cape buffalo got his water for his coffee to boil so quickly.

"And  _how,_  by chance, would you know this Wilde?" Each word from Bogo was as cold as an icy dagger and send a unnoticed shiver down his spine.

"Well, I know everyone in this town, and a few years back, hypothetically mind you, there may or may not have been a certain pair of foxes that might have fallen into the possession of certain police paraphernalia that may or may not have been procured in a questionable manner." Nick ignored the groan from Judy and continued. "If I remember the hearsay, not that I would know firstpaw of something like this, there should be roughly around 10 scanners and 14 radios that may or may not have been sold to those wanting them, hypothetically of course."

" _Nick..._ " Judy whined, dragging her paws down her face. "Just stop talking please..."

Nick at least gave the effort of acting indignant, even if it were just for show. "Again, Carrots, this is all hypothetical, and cannot be proven either way as it is now simply  _rumours_  so you have nothing to worry about." He gave the rabbit a wink, while she just frowned. "And at least now we might know who was the one who garnered such devices in the first place." The fox's gaze turned back to Bogo, and he almost flinched at the scowl on the Chief's face, yet his mask held firm. "If the  _hearsay_  is true, then the two foxes in question may have only received eight scanners and 10 radios dropped off at an undisclosed location, meaning that if this zebra is the one who stole them originally, he still has them so we can assume that if he is on the run, he'll be using them to make sure he isn't caught."

Nick leaned back in his seat, smug expression returning in full. "This was all about five, six years ago when he left the force, right Chief?"

"Fired," Bogo stated flatly, glaring at the fox. For several uncomfortable moments, the word was left hanging in the air, and both Nick and Judy were wondering if the fox had finally managed to push Bogo to the breaking point. Even Nick was starting to have cracks forming in his mask he always wore before the Chief, as his ears drooped slightly and his tail went from swishing behind him, to wrapping around Judy.

"Sir…" Judy looked from Nick to the Chief, a look of worry filling her widened eyes. "Do you mean our suspect was fired, or did you just fire my partner because if so, then you'll lose both-"

"I meant our suspect," Bogo interrupted, a hint of an actual smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I just wanted to see that smarmy grin plastered on Wilde's face drop a few degrees in the opposite direction.

Judy sent a glare at her boss, who waved it off with practiced ambivalence, even if her stare did unnerve him slightly with how focused it was. He made a mental note to not tick off Officer Hopps for several weeks for fear of some sort of reprisal for his modest prank.

"But yes," Bogo stated abruptly, clearing his throat. "To answer Wilde's question, that was when our perp was dishonorably discharged from the force by Commissioner Grizner." The buffalo then groaned, pinching his muzzle. "I don't know whether to be happy with these new facts about missing equipment Wilde, or hit you with IA so quickly your head will spin."

"It's  _all_ hypothetical of course," Nick stressed, his earlier, easy-going grin back, his mask firmly re-entrenched, mainly aimed at Bogo who was holding his head in his right hoof and dragging it down his muzzle."And  _hearsay_  to boot," Nick continued, placing a paw over his heart. "Anything that I've mentioned I have only done so in the  _goodness_  of my heart as it might benefit our current situation. And since there are hundreds of foxes in this city that I know of, who are currently hustling or on the further side of the law than the quasi-legal side to make a living, any one of those might be the two foxes of which I may or may not have mentioned."

"Nick."

"Yes, Carrots?"

"Hush."

"Yes, dear," Nick replied, zipping his fingers across his lips, earning another playful scowl from the bunny.

The room was silent for a moment as the three processed the information. It was obvious now how their suspect had been able to follow them into Bunnyburrow, and even though their safehouse had not been broadcasted to the precinct in general, if anyone had slipped at all in the past week and a half and mentioned it on their radio chatter, that location as well could be targeted. Nick and Judy had already shown how it wasn't the safest place, as their unnoticed escape from it a week prior had shown, and with the knowledge that the one trying to kill them had TUSK training, meaning they were taught in breaching locations and taking out targets quickly and efficiently, made the situation that much worse.

Judy was now slightly worried, and wondered if she should keep her tranq pistol next to her while she slept until Harold was caught. Of if she should just move her bed into Nick's room so that they'd be better able to confront him if Harold did decide to come after them at home.

Judy paused, her breath catching at the last word.  _Home._ She had thought of the safehouse as  _home,_  when she had never referred to her apartment as such.

 _I mean, I don't have the Bucky and Pronk show each night, or the line for the bathroom in the morning, but...those don't make the safehouse a home..._ Judy thought.  _The only real difference is…_

Nick…

The revelation left her reeling, yet made her feel like her heart was going to beat out of her chest. The safehouse was  _home_ , because Nick was there to share it with her. She felt comfortable with him there. Safe...protected... _loved._

Looking over at Nick, she saw him thoughtfully pondering, his paws clasped together below his chin as he stared forward at the wall. His gaze caught hers however, and the slightest upturn of a grin appeared as she smiled back at him.

Judy knew what they had to do.

They would have to close this case up, and fast, if they were to stay safe any longer and actually be able to maybe start thinking of a home they could call their own someday. So that they could start planning for their future,  _together._  Had this new romance come on quickly like a thunderstorm rolling over the Hoppton Hills near Bunnyburrow, cascading onto the rolling fields of carrot, wheat and corn below?

Perhaps...but to Judy, it was the most natural progression of their close friendship, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

Now, she just wanted to get this case over with so they could begin to see what life might bring them. A life where they didn't have to wonder when they might be attacked by a spectre of their past, and just deal with  _normal_  police work.

Though with Nick and her history of crimes solved, she rather doubted that they'd ever have a  _normal_  case in their careers.

She shook that final thought out of her mind before it even had time to appear. They  _needed_ to shut this case  _now._  Which meant it was the perfect time to bring up their earlier discussion with their superior officer.

"Chief, permission to chase down a lead?"

"And what would that be Hopps?"

The bunny gave a fleeting glance towards Nick, who nodded in approval, knowing what she was going to bring up and giving her full reigns to the conversation.

"Are you sure, Nick? This is your story."

He waved off her concern with a true smile. "I trust you Judy. You've heard it several times, so I'm sure you could give Chief a watered down version of it. Besides," he placed his arms behind his head as he crossed his legs. "I think I need to learn to put  _my_  past behind me if I want to enjoy the future with  _you._ "

If not for the presence of Bogo and the warnings about showing overly-affectionate behavior at work with their relationship, she would have leapt from her chair and into Nick's arms, kissing and hugging him until either grew tired of it, which she hoped would be never. Instead she settled for her warmest smile, making sure to remind herself to kiss the tar out of him as soon as they clocked out for the day for his admission which to her, was tantamount to a proposal from the fox. She held back the growing feeling of warm happiness spreading through her body, as well as the urge to just leap on her fox now, take him to Claws Vegas and marry the heck out of him tonight.

"Spare me the cute stares and wedding proposals and cut to the chase, Officers." Apparently Bogo had noticed their stares at one another, as well as Nick's comment. The buffalo grinned as Judy sheepishly, and quickly looked away from her partner, a rather large and heated blush raging through her ears and cheeks.

"Chief, have we ever _steered_  you wrong before?" Nick grinned, tussling Judy's ears which only caused her embarrassment, and feelings, to grow. At this rate, for his admissions and gestures, besides his bad puns, she  _was_  going to break their promise to not kiss at the station.

It was becoming quite hard keeping that promise, and she was beginning to wonder if their office had a security camera in it..

Bogo grunted, his ears flickering up as his body stiffened as the fox gave an uneasy laugh as the buffalo glared down at him for his rather tasteless pun.

"Alright, poor choice of words there..." Nick chuckled nervously.

"What my partner means..." Judy took over from the fox, shooting him a quick glare while she battled her raging emotions inside her, "...is that Nick has a  _bit_  of a history with our suspect..."

Bogo's glare deepened. "What  _kind_  of history…"

* * *

 

Bogo was nearly late for giving his morning briefing as he, Judy and Nick, all wandered into the bullpen at precisely 8:29am. As the agitated buffalo took to the lectern, the smaller pair of mammals quickly took to their seat, Nick helping Judy up, and the bunny discreetly giving him a quick peck on his cheek for his help, holding his paws between them so nobody could see the quick show of affection as Bogo began the morning brief.

Or so they thought...

"Now that's cute," came a grunt from the back of the room. Nearly every head turned and looked towards the sound of the voice, spying a heavily scarred warthog leaning against the back wall, arms folded across his chest.

Judy was just opening her mouth when she heard Nick chuckling next to her. "Hey, if it isn't Officer Piggly Wiggly. Looks like you survived that horrible sloth attack." Nick shook his head, grinning as he stared at the boar. "I still just  _can't_   _believe_  how with your speed he caught up with you like that. Even Clawhauser managed to get out of the way."

Most of the officers in the room either grunted or chuckled at the comment. The event had been a few months prior, during Nick's second week on the force and both he and Judy had seen the entire scene in its completion. And Nick still wouldn't let the TUSK Sergeant live it down.

Especially since he had pictures of it copied and posted to the bulletin board in the breakroom.

"That's Sergeant Pickney Wimbley to you, fox," the mammal snapped back, glaring at the vulpine officer.

"Of course, how could I ever forget such a name connected with that  _beautiful_  face."

A new round of laughter erupted at the boar's expense as Bogo groaned and shook his head.

"Everyone shut it!" he finally yelled, garnering all the attention back in the room to himself.

"Alright, we just have three items on the docket today," he began, shuffling the red binders that Higgins passed over to him. "First, you all know what has been going on with Officers Hopps and Wilde, as well as how we now have a name to put with our suspect. For the briefing to cover these events, Officer Wimbley will be giving a succinct relation of the facts of the case, as being the Sergeant in charge of TUSK, he has the pertinent information for all of you to hear about our suspect as he led the raid on his home yesterday. Sergeant Wimbley."

The mentioned warthog pushed himself away from the wall and shuffled forward, only giving the slightest of glares at Nick before taking the podium.

Nick held a snicker when Pickney realized that the podium was still sized for Bogo's height, and had to stand next to it rather than behind it. Grabbing some paperwork from the table, he also took a magnet and stuck a picture of a zebra on the whiteboard behind him.

"Here is our suspect, Harold Herdtrotter - thirty five. Lives in Savannah Central off of 38th and Bleating. Single, no family and more importantly, nowhere to hide."

Nick rolled his eyes at the last comment. Right off the bat he could think of at least 27 places that none of the police officers in the room would ever locate him at. Well, possibly excepting Judy of course as she had found him at his second favorite spot to lay low thanks to Finnick.

Nick refocused his attention on the warthog, noticing that the porcine was staring daggers at him. Apparently his laughter had been a bit  _too_  loud?

"Do you have something to add, Fox?"

Nick shook his head, staying quiet, partly due to actually wanting to hear what more information he could learn about his old bully, and partly due to the frown Judy was sending his way.

"Good. As I was saying," Wimbley began anew, giving a now rather ineffective stare down at the group of assembled officers. "Harold Herdtrotter is a mammal on the run. He may know how we operate, due to his tactical training before he was fired from the force,  _however_ …" The warthog pointed towards the picture on the whiteboard. "This picture, along with his physical traits are being broadcasted around the entire city as we speak. I can imagine that within a day we'll have this zebra bagged and tagged, with me in charge, which, I may remind you all, is a much shorter time than  _some_  officers have taken to let him escape twice from our grasps."

Wimbley continued on with his briefing, ignoring the now disgruntled stares and mutterings from his fellow officers. The warthog was not well liked for his rather arrogant attitude and general mockery of any officer that wasn't in his unit. The one reason he was still in Precinct One, and not assigned to the Polar Straits as most wanted him to be, was due to his effective handling of the Precinct's TUSK unit.

"In the raid upon Harold's home by my unit last night, we recovered several items of interest, including a nighthowler gun with several nighthowler pellets nearby. It would appear that he was plotting more assaults based upon our findings. He also had a list of locations and a map hanging in his bedroom, and looked to be trying to triangulate where some of our officers may have been living."

Judy's frown deepened at that last statement. She would like to get her paws on that map as well as any of the evidence TUSK had found to see just how close Harold had been to locating them at the safehouse, or if it were even safe to go back there or to simply stay at the stationhouse until they could capture him. She knew she shouldn't give into fearing him, as that was what he wanted to happen, but she also had to consider Nick's safety as well. This was  _his_  old bully, and Judy did not want to see Nick suffer if Harold did indeed find them and hurt him, all due to her hardheadedness.

 _Sometimes the best offense was a good defense, as they say_...she thought.

"Did you check under his sofa?"

Judy looked at Nick, as well as most of the other officers in the room, Bogo included. The Chief raised an eyebrow at the odd question, turning to see Wimbley grunt and turn towards Nick with a scowl. "My TUSK unit is very  _thorough_  and…"

"I'm not doubting your abilities," Nick shot back with a twinkle in his eyes, "Well, maybe yours," he added to a bit of amused chuckles. "But, I just wanted to know if you checked under the rug that would be lying underneath his sofa."

The warthog's eyes narrowed and as he opened his mouth to reply, Nick beat him to the punch.

"I take that as a no," Nick replied, his smirk that Judy recognized easily sliding onto his muzzle. "Seems like you might not have been as thorough as you should have been then, so let me elucidate this for you." Nick sat up, leaning into the back of his chair with one arm dangling over the top of it, conveniently allowing his paw to be right above Judy's ears, which he began scratching, unseen by anyone behind them or from the sides as his draped arm, and the chair that was taller than she was, covered the action. Judy hid the shudder of pleasure that went down her spine, shooting Nick a quick " _stop it right now",_ glare, albeit with a hint of a smile at his touch.

The snark was seeping into Nick's words as he spoke. "So let me just let you in on a few secrets about Sahara Square and it's equestrian tenants. I may have known a certain hoofed mammal, who shall remain nameless and species-less for the time being so that certain investigative affairs folks won't question me about him later on…"

The comment earned a few round of laughter, as Nick's history as a con-mammal was well known throughout the station, though he was rather elusive with the details and as such, had frustrated every attempt of Internal Affairs for pinning anything on him for his past transgressions. Agents Forester and Gat were particularly troublesome, as the deer and ocelot had been after him even while he was in the Academy. It may not have helped that he promised the deer, who he quickly nicknamed Branches, that if he beat Nick in a sparring match that he'd tell him everything.

Nick won in nearly record time, with the only record for KO or tap out he didn't beat were those of Judy's near instant wins during her time at the academy.

Forester hadn't bothered him since, though other IA agents had tried, and failed, to nail the city's first fox cop.

"As I was saying," Nick continued. "This certain mammal let me know that most of our hoofed friends do not like to have wooden floors, but prefer carpet as it is softer after a day of walking on cement and easier on their ankles. Isn't that right Chief?"

The cape buffalo glared at him, but nodded slowly.

"Wonderful," Nick continued, clasping his paws together as his smirk grew and the glare from Wimbley became even more frosty. "Now, I'm fairly certain that since with all the dust and sand around those parts, he probably didn't have a carpeted floor, but would at least have rugs in those places that he used the most often, ergo, the sofa."

"Now," Nick continued, holding up a finger as Wimbley tried to interrupt him, the warthog frowning when he was cut off. "As my associate may or may not have stated, such a spot allows for a great place to hide certain objects that during a raid, might not otherwise be found as most houses have open spaces below their floors to allow cooler air to rise through their home during the day in that rather hot and uncomfortable district. Either that or they have basements, which, according to the address you gave us, he couldn't possibly have had due to the caliche that most houses are built on in that area that prevents any basements from being dug. Does that all sound about right?"

The warthog grunted, then nodded. Grimacing at the fact that he had to agree with the Officer Wilde.

The fox leaned back into his seat, smirk firmly intact upon his muzzle as he put his arms behind his head. "Anyways, most folks of the less  _reputable_  kind like to hide their more  _valuable_  assets there, or so I've heard, as the scent from drugs would be overpowered by the smells from the couch and rug so that even Wolford," he jutted his thumb back at the wolf sitting behind him, "even with his snoz might not find what is hidden below."

Feeling quite satisfied with the now angry warthog in front of him, and impressed officers behind him, he gave Judy a cursory wink, pleased at the massive grin she was giving him.

"Well look at you, Junior Detective," Judy laughed, bringing her paw up for a fist bump, one he gladly reciprocated. "I think you make a good cop after all. I must be rubbing off on you."

Nick rolled his eyes, but managed a short chuckle before the TUSK Sergeant managed to compose himself and interject their conversation.

"We'll certainly look into that claim of yours," he grumbled. "Not that it will pan out, but just to be thorough."

"Of course, of course." The fox nodded. "Maybe with that bit of knowledge you would have caught Timongoose all those months ago after he raided all those warthog fashion boutiques, dressed in drag, and then posted the videos online of him doing the hula." Nick looked down at Judy before looking back towards Wimbley. "Oh, and you're welcome, by the way, for us catching him. Took us...what, Carrots, three days to catch him? Only because Hamlet here was a drama queen and wouldn't let us take the case for two of those days?"

"Why you little pelt!" The warthog started towards the fox, as a roar hushed the room into silence.

"Enough!" Bogo roared, slamming his hoof upon the desk hard enough to cause the other end to tip.

"Thank you for that  _wonderful_  briefing Sergeant…" Bogo drawled, snorting as he spoke. "Now if you have any further disagreements with any of my officers, you can meet me in my office after this for a curt briefing about respect. Do you want that Wimbley?"

"No sir." The warthog stiffened as he saluted the buffalo.

"Good, now take a seat. And Officer Wilde?"

"Yes, Chief?" the fox chirped merrily.

"Shut your mouth or I'll have you doing parking duty in Tundratown for a month, got it? I will not have you disrespecting any of your fellow officers, regardless of rank. Understood?"

Nick grinned. "Of course Chief, but just one question about the meter maid duty…"

Bogo glared, which Nick took as permission to speak more.

"Can Hopps do it with me?"

Apparently it was a horrible decision as Bogo's eye twitched.

" _Shut it!"_

Several officers chuckled at the exchange as Officer Wimbley grumbled incoherently while shuffling around the table. Another surreptitious comment was about to leave Nick's muzzle when Judy elbowed him in the side none-too-gently.

"What?" he grinned, looking down at her, as she folded her arms across her chest while giving him a scowl.

"You were going to say something that would get us parking duty in Tundratown."

"Wouldn't you want to spend a month with me there though? I know I'd like to spend a month with a beautiful bunny, all snuggled together after a cold day, to keep nice and warm."

Judy could only grumble at the compliment and idea, not disregarding it as it did actually make the assignment sound  _somewhat_  pleasurable. At the end of each day at least. As she was about to reply, their chair suddenly tipped roughly, sliding Judy nearly off the polished and slick surface. Nick leaned towards her so he wouldn't fall off the side of the chair, catching himself just above her as she gripped onto his shirt collar to keep from slipping off as the chair tilted back into all four legs in the now opposite direction.

"'Scuse me," Wimbley snorted as he walked past, earning a series of not too muffled rumbles and snarls from several of the officers in the room.

If he were petty, which at the consult of his wife he was trying to improve upon, Bogo would have called out the warthog again for his act, however, he held in his comments and just glared at the back of the TUSK Sergeant. Which, if he was honest with himself, was probably much worse than anything he could have said if the dang mammal had simply turned around and looked back at him. However, fate wasn't beneficial to him as the Sergeant made for the back door, slamming it shut as he left.

With the Sergeant gone, he refocused upon Hopps and Wilde, noticing they still hadn't moved from their position, Nick slightly over Judy with the bunny gripping his shirt collar tightly in her paws...their muzzles fractions of an inch away from each other. He was glad that Clawhauser wasn't there to see it, or his ears would again suffer from one of his ear splitting "Aww's" at the sight.

Though he had to admit the pose made them look like a rather adorable couple, even though he did have to break up what he knew would be coming next. Clawhauser would hate him for it, but, he was the Chief, and had to do it to keep order in his Precinct.

When he sensed the pair closing towards each other, and as their lips were about to touch, to the sudden hooting and hollering of their fellow officers, Bogo interrupted.

"Ahem…" he coughed loudly, managing to startle the pair from the time they were lost in each others eyes. "As I am sure you two might remember what we talked about earlier...about distractions, I thought that I might remind you again about the repercussions of such obvious flirting on the job might entail."

Judy jumped away from Nick as if he had scalded her. "No sir! No distractions sir!" Her ears perked up, back straightened as she stared him down with determined eagerness. Wilde, on the other paw, seemed to take Bogo's veiled threat in stride.

"Of course Sir. Though is it really a distraction when she takes up most of my mind anyways, while you take up a very teeny percentage? Sounds like you might be the distraction here. And a rather hot one if that Gazelle Dancing App has anything to say about it."

"Shut it Wilde! Now!"

Bogo tried his best to ignore the resulting laughs as he put his glasses back on. He was quickly losing control of the briefing, only managing to get it back when he shot a quick glare out towards his officers. "The next mammal to laugh gets to be Hopps' sparring partner for a month."

The room turned deathly silent in an instant, every officer quieting…

...except one of course.

"I don't think anyone else could handle that except me, Chief."

Bogo groaned. "Wilde, just shut it for once."

"Yes Chief."

"Now then…" Bogo looked back onto the papers he had brought with him, wishing he had a bottle of Bahhleeve to take to get through this disaster of a briefing. And that was before he even had gotten past the first item on his list to cover.

_I don't get paid enough to deal with him everyday..._

"Alright, second item on the docket," Bogo stated flatly. "Everyone except for Delgato, Fangmeyer, Hopps and Wilde have their same assignments from yesterday. Those four will remain here while the rest of you can get going." Chairs scraped across the floor as all but the four of the aforementioned mammals left. It wasn't until the last officer had left the room, that Bogo returned his attention to his remaining four officers.

"Now, I'm having the four of you on a special assignment due to a lead that Hopps and Wilde found in Bunnyburrow and have just made known to me this morning."

"And you didn't share it with us then?" Fangmeyer gawked.

"We would have," Judy began, before being cut off by a raised hoof from Bogo.

"Relax Fangmeyer. They only remembered about it last night due to Hopps recollecting a detail from Nick's story, that two of my best detectives  _hadn't_  noticed, I might add."

"With all due respect, sir," Nick began, interrupting the Chief yet again. "Judy deserves all the honors for this lead."

Bogo's head jerked back as if the fox had just slapped him and insulted his mother with the vulpine's sudden show of humility. After several moments of wonder, Bogo's eyes narrowed.

"Who are you and what have you done with Wilde?" Sparing a glance at Judy, he frowned, seeing that she was blushing slightly as Nick also smiled down at her.

"Hopps, did my ears deceive me, or did Wilde actually just show some amount of humility? Something that I thought he hadn't an ounce of?"

"It's actually two and a quarter ounces sir," Nick chimed in, his usual smug grin back in full force. "I had it weighed a few years back as part of a dare…"

"Well that lasted less than a minute," Delgato huffed, folding his arms across his chest as Bogo straightened.

"Good to have you back Wilde," the Chief snorted, before shifting his gaze back to his two detectives. "Delgato, Fangmeyer, as I was saying...you two are to go with Hopps and Wilde over to where this Yax resides in Sahara Square and act as their escort. Keep an eye out for any zebra you cross paths with as our suspect may try again at darting Wilde. We don't know if we managed to capture all of his equipment in the raid, but we can't be too careful in this situation."

"In Sahara Square, sir?" Fangmeyer asked dubiously. "There are thousands of zebras there." The rest of his remark was cut off by a piercing glare from his boss, the buffalo's ears flickering in annoyance.

"Then you best be watching  _carefully_ , Fangmeyer. Now...dismissed!"

* * *

 

"So, where are we going, Hopps?" Delgato stated bluntly while following after the rabbit as the foursome left Bogo's office. Judy said nothing in reply, just smiled as she and Nick walked towards the stairs.

Slightly annoyed at being ignored, the tiger matched their pace and walked next to them, doing his best to stare the rabbit down but she didn't even glance up at him.

"As I said, where are we heading to? Fangmeyer and I can't do a good job of protecting you if we can't prepare for where we are heading. Are you going towards this Yax's home? What species is he and do we need to bring any extra equipment just in case?"

"You'll see," both Nick and Judy replied at the same time, causing Delgato to blanch back in bewilderment. Fangmeyer bumped into him, the white wolf stumbling back a pace before shaking his head.

"Did they just…"

Delgato nodded. "They did…" the tiger mumbled as the smaller two mammals gave each other a quick fist bump before descending the stairs towards the back lot.

"Can I just call them Officers WildeHopps now," Fangmeyer asked with a hint of amusement lacing his words. "Because that was just too freaky..."

 


	34. Surprises

 

The atmosphere in the room was a mix of sweat, noxious odors, spilled alcohol and tobacco; something that most mammals with a sensitive nose would shy away from. The place wasn't known as a prime tourist point in the Meadowlands, but rather the opposite. Several district council members had promised to clean up the seedy establishment as part of their campaign promises, yet after nearly fifty years of the joint being in operation, they had all come and gone, and none of them had succeeding in shutting the dirty, grimy, stinking place down.

The smell was one aspect of The Cloven Hoof that Harold didn't have to worry about. Wincing from a new stabbing feeling in his nose, the zebra lifted another drink to his muzzle, downing it just as quickly as he had the previous five. He cursed the two mammals who had ruined his life, as he was rather fond of the smell of alcohol, but thanks to them and his busted muzzle, he probably wouldn't be able to smell it any time soon. The taste was as good as before, a wash of licorice and spices, and that was his single consolation.

"Stupid bunny and that mangy pelt," he slurred, tipping back the shot glass, only to glare at it in annoyance when he found it empty of the bourbon he'd been downing. Slamming it to the counter several times, he glared at the bartender.

"Give me 'nother one."

The bartender, a disgruntled looking ram, simply shook his head. "It ain't even noon, Harold, and you're already plastered."

"Don't care," the zebra growled, banging the glass again on the table with enough force that it was surprising it didn't crack. "I want another and I have the money to pay for it."

"I'm not serving you another drop," the ram countered, adopting the tone he always did when he had to refuse drink to an irate customer; he was used to it.

Harold grunted before resting his head on the table, only to hiss in pain at the throbbing feeling shooting up from his muzzle and pushing out around his eyes.

"Why'd I even take this job..."

"I thought you liked working for your friend?"

Harold turned his head, scraping his chin against the wood, not even caring that he caught a few splinters; it was a long time since the counter had been sanded down. "That ain't the job I was talking about."

Putting down the damp cloth which he had been using to clean several dishes, the barkeep gave him a sharp look. "Then what job did you get? Don't look like a good one if your mug is any description of the job itself."

"Shut yer trap, Donnie," spat the zebra, before eyeing the empty glass again. "And I thought I said I wanted more..."

"Well you ain't getting more!"

Harold's temper rose as well as his hoof, which still held the glass. "I said I want _more!"_ Slamming his hoof down, the sound of shattering glass sparked throughout the bar, though it barely attracted more than a gaze or two. The bar was not remiss to the sounds of breaking glass or wood, as fights were a near daily occurrence, yet it was _who_ had smashed the glass that attracted the gazes of the rest of the mammals in the 'Hooves Only' bar.

The bartender dropped his rag to the table, raising a hoof to his head. "Harold, this ain't healthy! You show up last night and drink yourself blind, and seem to want to do it again today. What's going on with ya?"

Sending a heavy glare towards the ram, Harold muttered under his breath. "Nuthing..."

"With you, that's the biggest lie I've ever heard. You're always up ta sumthin'."

Before the zebra could even send another pointed glare at the bartender turned psychologist, the door to the bar came open as a large mammal timidly walked in. Harold turned to see the new visitor, rolling his eyes as the portly mammal approached him.

"What do _you_ want?" Harold spat, his aggression increased by the chemicals flooding through his body after all the drink he had washed down.

"Steven wanted me to give you this." A large sealed baggie dropped down in front of the zebra's head with a soft thud. The equestrian gave the hippo a hard look.

"What is it?"

The other mammal shrugged. "I don't know. He just said that you'd probably be here and for me to give this to you."

"Then what is it?"

"I don't know."

"How could you not know? Didn't you ask what it was?"

The other animal nervously shrugged. "I don't ask questions. You know I need my job..."

The zebra's hoof connected sharply with the hippo's jaw, sending the larger mammal staggering backwards, his own hoof coming to tenderly touch his cheek.

"What was that for?"

"For giving me nothing!" Harold shouted. "Now why don't you get your prissy, furless little tail back to wherever you came from."

Despite being several times larger than the striped mammal, the hippo nodded glumly, his shoulders slumping, before he turned and walked out of the bar.

Harold's eyes following him until the door shut behind him. "Stupid fat hippos..." he muttered darkly, before flicking out a switchblade from his pocket. Deftly cutting the bag open, he peered inside, snorting when he pulled out a smaller bag of what looked like homemade cookies, though slightly burnt ones at that. Tossing those over his shoulder and onto the floor, he grinned as he noticed a letter and a small blue-toned orb in a small, clear container. Opening the letter, he read what was written with amusement.

_"Use in case of emergency, or if you see that fox or rabbit again. Chew, swallow, and pummel them to bits."_

"Always one for pleasantries, he is," Harold muttered, shaking his head, although he had to admit to being slightly amused. Again reaching into his pocket, he produced a lighter and torched the note, gaining the ire of the bartender.

"Hey! No flames in the joint, unless you want to be escorted out of here."

At a nod from the ram, the vibration from heavy hooves sounded behind the zebra until he felt a draft of moist air hit the back of his neck.

"Morning to you too, Blaine," he shrugged nonchalantly.

The large bison behind him snorted, the sound distorted from the muzzle worn by the large mammal. "I trust that you are being a good guest, and that I needn't supervise your exile from here?" the bison stated, his voice slightly muffled from the device over his mouth.

Harold stared at the bison for several long moments before grinning. "And if I don't?"

"He felt the bison's grip on his shoulder tighten until pain shot through his arm as the bison snorted in amusement.

"Tell me Harold, do you feel you are in control here?"

Harold grimaced slightly. "'I'll be good."

"I'm glad to hear it." The bison patted him on his back once, gripping his shoulder tightly for several seconds before trudging off into the shadows in the corner of the bar.

Both zebra and ram watched him until he disappeared into the darkness. A minute passed before the ram spoke.

"You can stay here for now, Harold. You got two days before you gotta go. But not before you pay your tab."

Snorting his acceptance, the zebra grinned as another pint slid in front of him. Lifting it to his muzzle, he drained the glass with relish.

 _Only need two more days..._ he thought. In two days Humphry would arrive, and he'd be able to finally leave this dump of a pred-loving city behind him for good.

Staring at the empty glass, he wondered what his new place would be like with his cousin.

_I hope the weather is good in Chipawgo._

* * *

The car ride over to the Naturalist Club was a lot quieter than the ride back from Bunnyburrow. For one, both Fangmeyer and Delgato were vehemently against riding in the car with Nick and Judy, instead opting for following them in their own cruiser to watch for anyone who might be following them. The silence only continued as they grew closer to their destination, until Judy couldn't take it any longer. Nick was never this silent for this long unless _something_ was distracting him.

"Nick?"

The fox turned from looking out the window towards his bunny, giving her a nod.

"You're okay after last night, right?" she asked, nose twitching slightly in concern.

He grinned, though Judy could tell it was somewhat forced. "Of course Carrots. I have my bunny here with me, so why wouldn't I be ok?"

Judy couldn't help but grin herself. "Because your ears are droopy." Her smile soon vanished as she noticed Nick's ears lower further and the fox slouch into himself.

"Nick, look. I can only imagine what you are going through right now, but I'm here for you." Taking a paw off the steering wheel, she moved it to cover his own resting on the console between them. "You know you can tell me anything right? I won't judge."

Nick huffed lightly through a smile. "I know that Fluff. Just trust me that compared to the usual, this," he pointed towards himself, tapping a finger against his chest, "is actually much better than the day after usually is." He leaned in towards Judy, smiling for real this time. "And I believe I know the small grey reason for that as well."

Judy couldn't help but smile, and as they pulled up to a red light, she turned and placed a kiss right onto Nick's nose, startling the fox, who froze at the loving gesture.

"Don't you forget it," she chirped merrily as the light turned green. Her mood again turned serious as she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "Just remember that we're partners, and if you ever need anything - from an ear to hear you vent, to a tail brushing session - I can do it."

"You really just want to touch my tail don't you," Nick chided as Judy blushed.

"Maybe that last one would benefit both of us?" she half asked, half stated.

"Only if I can do that for you right after," The fox laughed as Judy went to punch him, moving away and out of range of her fist.

"Jerk."

"You know you love me," Nick replied, leaning back into his seat.

"Every second," she replied, turning onto the freeway that led directly into Sahara Square. The two sped along, followed closely behind by Fangmeyer and Delgato. The procession of two police cruisers seemed to help move traffic along, as many drivers saw them approach and moved out of their way. Their conversation changed to other things, both of them avoiding any conversation that had anything to do with the case.

Though one topic did seem to be on both of their minds…

"Hey Nick?"

"Yes Carrots?"

"What are we going to do after this is over?"

Nick turned to see her giving him a rather piercing and worried look.

"Well, I'm thinking of putting in some of those vacation hours I've earned. Maybe head off somewhere fun for a week with a certain bunny..."

Judy shook her head, smiling at the idea. It was tempting, and for a moment she could imagine both of them travelling to some location she'd only heard about. Maybe on a white sand beach of Pawaii, or a nice cottage in the middle of the forest alone with Nick.

"Carrots, there's a car in front of you!"

Nick's panicked voice woke her from her reverie, her paw slamming on the breaks as a truck sized for elephants pulled in front of them without using their blinker. Her paw reflexively went towards the sirens, but Nick gently stopped her.

"We have more important things to do than chase down a blinker-dodger, wouldn't you say?"

Judy frowned, gripping the wheel tighter as she glared at the truck in front of her, though not for long, as the sign for the exit came quickly into view. Both mammals calmed as they pulled off the freeway and onto a side street, their GPS announcing their destination to be three miles ahead and on the right. The heat from the bio-wall caused the air to shimmer in the morning sun, promising another scorching hot day for Sahara Square. Although, in Nick's years of experience, the district was never exactly _cool_ to begin with.

"Thank you Judy."

The comment was received with a raised eyebrow from the rabbit as it caught her off guard. "You're welcome, but can I know what I'm being thanked for?"

She noticed Nick relax into his seat, though his eyes were focused on her. "For believing in me."

 _Not now...not now..._ Judy repeated in her mind, as a feeling of warmth and tenderness flowed through her, just like that first time when _he_ had believed in _her_ , standing up to Bogo in her defense during their first forty eight hours together.

"I mean," Nick continued, his gaze settling upon the doe, "if it weren't for you, I'd still be doing the old hustle that never really brought me any joy. At least nothing compared to what you've been able to bring to me during our time together."

 _Keep it together, keep it together_...Judy thought as she tried to focus her thoughts onto anything other than the honeyed words her fox was telling her. _Just think of something else...like that holiday we could take to Pawaii. Think of the sand...the beaches, the waves, Nick laughing in the sun with his fur…_

_Not working!_

Either Nick didn't notice Judy's growing frustration, or he just needed to say what he needed to say, as he continued while Judy battled against herself.

"You've been there for me through it all, and not an hour goes by without me thinking of how much better my life is with you in it. It makes me wish I could go back twenty years and meet you then so I wouldn't have lost so much time."

_Hang in there Judy. You're on duty...Bogo said you can't kiss him while you're on the clock. You know you hate that rule, but you can wait until you clock out. You can do this..._

Most of what Nick said next was lost to the void of time as Judy tried in vain to keep her emotions under control while he bore his soul wide open to her. It didn't help with what she did catch him say next that caused that lump in her throat to threaten to choke her.

"I love you Judy. You bring out the best in me, and I hope I can bring out the best in you."

_Oh sweet cheese and crackers...That's it!_

She jerked the car to the right and into a Walrus-Mart parking lot. Finding an open spot, she slammed on the brakes and brought the car to a sudden and jerky stop.

Nick was grasping at his chest, breathing heavily.

"Carrots, if I knew you'd try and kill us then I would have…"

His words were silenced as all in one motion, Judy turned off the car, flicked off her seatbelt and jumped onto him, crashing her lips into his, tears in her eyes.

"I love you too, you dumb fox!" she murmured, before leaning in again for another kiss.

* * *

"So, do you know anything about this 'Mystic Springs Oasis' that we're heading to?"

Fangmeyer shook his head at the tiger, tapping at his phone's screen. "Haven't even found anything on Zoogle about it yet. You'd think that whatever this place is they'd have at least a website of some sort to advertise for them."

The tiger driving the cruiser went back to looking at the car in front of them, spotting the two rabbit ears sticking up over the driver side seat. Delgato had no idea where they were headed, besides the non-committal answers that Judy and Nick had fed him, taunting him with the knowledge they had that he wanted quite badly.

"I think I found something."

He was pulled from his thoughts as his partner patted his shoulder. "Well, what is it?"

The wolf grinned, before it slowly turned to a frown as he scanned the web-page.

"Nevermind…" he uttered dejectedly.

"What was it?"

The wolf huffed before turning his phone off and shoving it in his pants pocket. "It was an ad for the place, but all it said was come and be liberated, or some nonsense like that."

"And how do Hopps and Wilde know about this place?" Delgato pondered. To him, it was sounding more and more like a place any sane mammal wouldn't want to visit, his imagination creating visions of mammals walking around in trances or smoking catnip.

The latter would at least bring some fun to his day, as animals high on nip always had the most interesting things to say as they were being arrested. At least that would give him something to laugh about with the other officers later.

"Dunno," came the miffed reply from the wolf. "Something to do with their investigation into the night howler conspiracy before Wilde was a cop. I thought I heard one of the vic's went there. Think if we called up Bogo that he'd…"

"What's going on up there?"

Fangmeyer's gaze instantly went to the patrol car in front of them as Delgato slammed on the brakes, nearly hitting Nick and Judy's cruiser as a large truck cut both cruisers off, almost grazing the new paint of the side of their car.

"Scat!" growled Delgato, glaring at the vehicle as they watched the cruiser ahead of them peel off at the next exit. They followed quickly, the tiger glad to see the other vehicle staying on the highway. "Idiot drivers!"

"I bet they were yaks," Fangmeyer chimed in, settling into his seat while watching Nick and Judy's patrol car. "They're always bad drivers."

"You seriously just said that?" the tiger scoffed at his partner, who shrugged his shoulders. "Don't you recall the chief's diversity lectures after Hopps came back? We had to sit in for those for three months!"

"You mean those ones were those they had those two moose with the strange afros telling us that, quote, 'Don't be mad," and, "stop, hating is bad", those mammals?" Fangmeyer asked.

"First of all, they were professors, second of all," Fangmeyer growled, glaring at his partner, "Did you actually pay any attention to them besides their hairstyle?"

"Hey," the wolf crossed his paws across his chest, "I've pulled over too many of them for driving erratically for there not to be a correlation with how low of a population they have in this city. It's like rabbits and multiplying. Even Hopps said they were good at it!"

"She meant about _math_ , Fangs."

"...oh."

Delgato groaned as they drove down the road, flicking on the AC as they passed into Sahara Square. With his thicker, coarser fur, the tiger was never happy to be in this area. Better left to Rhinowitz or Trunkaby, both of whom lived in the locality, rather than a tiger who was more than happy to live in the Rainforest District.

"I'm guessing like how there's a correlation between full moons and wolves being arrested for noise violations?"

The wolf shot a dirty look at the tiger, who sent just as smug a smile back before the screeching sound of tires squealing on blacktop caught their attention. They watched as Nick and Judy's cruiser veered off the side of the road, leaning only on two tires as it took the turn so sharply that for a moment, Delgato thought the vehicle would flip. Barely missing a startled elk driving a Meowcedes, it looked as if Judy had managed to gain control over the vehicle, sliding it to a stop in an open parking stall.

"Did you see what happened?" Delgato yelled at his partner as they sped past the turn, a swirl of dust and sand billowing around the now stalled cruiser, hiding its occupants from view. Flicking on the siren and lights, Fangmeyer turned in his seat to keep watch on the stopped police vehicle as Delgato raced the cruiser towards the next entrance into the lot. The wolf didn't risk taking his eyes off of it for a moment, his paw anxiously held over his tranquilizer and the other on the latch of the car door.

The moment their cruiser came to a stop, its own tires kicking up a cloud of sand and dust that seemed to cover everything in the hot, semi-arid climate, Fangmeyer was out the door, tranquilizer held at the ready as he scanned the area around him. Delgato quickly joined him, paw on his radio transponder clipped to his vest.

"Dispatch, this is unit 47. We may have a 595 with cruiser 38."

The radio crackled to life, with Clawhauser's voice coming over it loud and clear.

"10-4 Delgato. What happened?" the cheetah's voice was laced with worry, and the tiger could only imagine what Chief Bogo would be thinking, as he knew that the cape buffalo monitored the radio traffic to keep an eye on what was happening with his officers.

Sure enough, the gruff voice of Bogo came over the radio next.

"Delgato, what's the situation. 11-40?"

The tiger approached the cruiser, noticing that neither Officer Wilde or Hopps could be seen inside of it. Taking a step closer, he peered through the window, his worry instantly going away with what he saw.

"11-42 Chief. We're all good."

The tiger could feel the Chief's irritation over the radio. "Then you'd better stop wasting my time and nerves before I lose either of them."

On the other side of the cruiser, the tiger could see Fangmeyer peering into the cruiser, then knocking on the glass. The sudden pounding startled the two mammals inside, who up until that moment were in a rather tight embrace, laying against the door in Nick's seat. With Judy facing towards her partner, the tiger couldn't see her face as she jumped, but could tell from her lowered ears, and the sheepish grin on Nick's face, that the two smaller officers were quite mortified.

It took a minute until Judy rolled down the window, staring nervously into the detective's eyes. She tried to speak, only to be silenced by the feline.

"I won't say a word of this to anyone, as long as you two take our next holiday shift."

The rabbit nodded vigorously, gaining a chuckle from the tiger before the feline turned away.

"By the way, Hopps?" Turning her head to see the wolf on the other side of the cruiser, whose voice was muffled by the glass, she saw him giving them both a thumbs up. "Just remember to keep your snogging off the clock. You may want to turn your transponder off if there is a next time as well."

The wolf pointed towards the radio.

"Oh no…" Judy groaned, ears falling behind her head.

The radio crackled to life, Bogo's voice coming in loud and clear, and she could imagine the glare he held as his humor-devoid laughter came through the radio.

"Oh yes…"

* * *

The group made it to Mystic Springs Oasis without further incident, though Nick was without his normal sass as he left the cruiser, settling more upon embarrassment alongside his partner than on any other emotion. Though as he turned to face the adobe structure, he couldn't help but feel a grin pulling at the corners of his mouth. "So, Carrots, should we tell them?"

Glancing at the rabbit, he saw her morose features turn jovial faster than he'd ever seen it change before, her ears rising tall.

"I think that it would be best if we let them learn for themselves what happens here," Judy stated in a very coy fashion, barely resisting the urge to wink.

"What _does_ go on here?" Fangmeyer asked, walking up to the other two officers. They both turned and grinned.

"You'll see," they said in harmony, giving each other a sudden mischievous look before pounding paws. Judy turned, waving her paw, "Come on."

The four cops walked into the building, Nick opening it for all of them while waving them through. "After you."

_**(40 Minutes later)** _

"You are _not_ getting me to go back into _that_ place!" Delgato growled at Nick while pointing at the front door to the Mystic Springs Oasis, still shaken by his experiences inside.

"Aw, come on Stripes. Is the big bad tiger afraid of a little _fur…_ "

Delgato gave the fox a quite impressive, _'I hate you_ ', glare, only the second best he'd seen next in line to Chief Bogo's.

"I think that wasn't the only thing he was afraid of..." Judy added, crossing her arms across her chest, a smirk complementing the folded arms. "That cheetah in there seemed to like you. A lot."

Nick laughed boisterously. "Judy, I think it was more than _a lot_ , judging by how she let her tail trail up and around his."

"Shut it Wilde," Delgato said through clamped teeth. "I'm not going back in there with-"

"Sharlene, wasn't it?" Fangmeyer interjected, the wolf himself looking quite stiff as he exited the club, eyes wide and tail sticking straight out behind him. Looking at his partner, he held out a card. "She gave me this to give to you. I don't know where she was keeping it."

"Probably the same place Judy keeps her carrot pen," Nick joked, glancing at his partner. "Where do you keep that thing on your belt."

"Trade secret," Judy cheekily replied, watching as Fangmeyer passed them.

The wolf walked towards his and Delgato's cruiser, opening the door without a word, then shutting it. Peering in through the window, the three remaining officers watched the canine who sat so still, he might as well been a statue.

"Is he going to be alright?" Judy asked, uncrossing her arms as she looked up towards Delgato.

The tiger switched his gaze back to the rabbit, raising his paw to point at her. It shook several times in the air, his mouth open, but no words coming out before he finally huffed and retreated towards his police vehicle, limping slightly.

"Well, I had a ball," Nick stated merrily as he heard the tiger's door slam shut, actually shaking the large patrol car. Judy turned back to Nick, who was holding up two business cards. When Judy caught the names on them, she couldn't help but groan as the fox headed back towards the door.

"Nick, I think they've had enough for today."

"You can never have enough love in your life, Fluff," Nick shot back with a grin. "Just look at us? I don't think I could ever get enough Carrots in my life." Judy felt a blush creeping up her ears as the fox went back inside the building.

_**(Forty Minutes Earlier)** _

The officers passed through the stringed beads that hung from the ceiling, veiling the lobby from the rest of the entryway. With the only lights coming from a crystalline, glowing fountain and the many candles spread about the room, shadows clung to the walls and corners, making both Delgato and Fangmeyer nervous. Nick had informed them that who they were visiting used to be a friend to their suspect, and as such, might know where he would currently be.

"So who is this guy again?" Delgato half whispered, half growled as he leaned down to Nick's height.

Nick's ears perked up as he heard a meditative humming sound from across the lobby. "That would actually be him right now."

Delgato looked up as they passed the crystal fountain, the water gurgling forth from the center of it as it cascaded down its azure sides. "That yak is our lead?"

Nick nodded as the four approached the front desk, the humming growing louder and the smell of incense, as well as that of unwashed fur, becoming stronger with every step.

Judy started to move to gain the attention of Yax, however, a paw on her shoulder stopped her.

"Can't be having all the fun now, can we?" Nick whispered into her ear. The bunny rolled her eyes, but acquiesced and settled for waiting and watching what would happen.

"Excuse me, sir?"

Fangmeyer knocked on the desk that the Yak sat behind, but the noise and his greeting did nothing to stop the animals mystic stance, though the flies circling around him were starting to bother Delgato, who grimaced as he noticed just how many were zipping about the yak's shaggy mane and dreadlocks.

" _Ah-ummmmmmmmm."_

"Sir, if you could-" Fangmeyer stated, though was quickly cut off.

" _Ah-ummmmmmmmm."_

"Sir...If I may…"

" _Ah-ummmmmmmmm."_

Fangmeyer looked towards his partner who growled and slammed his fist down on the table, shaking it and causing several candles to jostle and move.

" _Ah-ummmmmmmm."_

"Oh, for the love of…" Delgato snarled and began to move around the table.

Nick nudged Judy, grinning with anticipation of what would happen next. "Here it _comes…_ " he whispered, Judy returning his smile as the tiger rounded the corner.

"Look Yax, we're in the middle of…" The tiger's steps ground to a halt as his eyes widened.

"For the sake of all that is holy!"

The tiger went from scowling in anger to a stammering fool in a flash. He went to turn away from the sight of the Yak, but only managed to turn straight into the table, stumbling and falling onto the stone floor.

Fangmeyer took several seconds before he moved, confusion filling his mind as the yak seemed to finally wake from his meditation and saw the tiger grabbing his knee and rolling on the floor.

"Oh hey, what are you doing down there?" Yax questioned, moving from his chair as he ambled towards the fallen tiger, his hooves clip-clopping on the rocky flooring.

"No, I'm good, stay right there," Delgato growled, holding a paw out to ward off the incoming yak. Fangmeyer chuckled in amusement, at least until the yak made it around the desk and the wolf could see him…

... _all_ of him.

Now it was the wolf's turn to fall backwards, yelping as he landed on his tail, gaining the attention of the yak, who turned to face him while still standing over Delgato.

"Oh, what is it with everyone falling down today?" he laughed, clearing his messy hair from in front of his eyes, scattering a new bunch of flies into the air. He heard two sets of laughs from in front of the desk, and walked around it, stepping right over Delgato who was trying his best to crawl away from the naked mammal.

"Hey there, Yax. Long time no see," Nick said with a two finger salute. "How've you been?"

Judy and Nick walked forward, the rabbit, to her credit, only grimacing slightly at the naturalist lifestyle on full display before her.

Though she was doing much better than her first visit, Nick recalled, thinking back to just how mortified the poor bunny was.

Yax's eyes widened as a goofy grin came across his face.

"Oh, it's you two again. What has it been? 19 months and twenty days or something like that?"

"Something like that," Judy repeated, walking forward and stretching out her paw for the yak to shake. He took it readily, before turning to accept Nick's outstretched paw. "And just like last time, we're here about a case," the rabbit finished.

Nick could hear the excitement building in Judy's voice as she spoke. If there was something which could make her happy, it was doing anything to make the world a better place, be that bringing in criminals or bringing smiles to other mammals' faces and happiness to their days. He turned and noticed that both Delgato and Fangmeyer were again standing, though averting their eyes as they walked towards the other three mammals, with the wolf taking quite the interest in the nearby fountain.

"Hey Yax, buddy?" Nick stated quickly, a grin forming as a plan sprung to life in his mind. Noticing Judy looking at him, he nodded towards the door leading to the open area of the club, whispering so low that he knew only Judy would hear him.

"We _need to talk privately with Yax."_

The rabbit nodded in understanding, recognizing that even though the other two officers were there to escort them and keep them safe, they were also going to be discussing something from Nick's past that he wasn't quite comfortable with everyone at the precinct knowing about.

"Got a question for ya," Nick stated after turning his attention back from Judy to Yax.

"Oh sure, ask away, hehe."

"Alright," Nick stated smugly, clapping his paws together in delightful anticipation. "You see these two over there? I don't believe they have had the pleasure of touring this place before. Do you think that maybe they could have a personal tour of this establishment while we discuss some things?"

Yax's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh for sure! We have just the two mammals that could do that for them!"

Walking back behind his desk, he reached over against the wall and pulled on a tasseled rope. A series of bells chimed within the building, causing the tiger and wolf to look up in surprise. Not more than a minute later did the doors to the courtyard of the building open, and light poured through, momentarily blinding Delgato and Fangmeyer who were unfortunately looking straight at it.

As their eyes adjusted to the sudden brilliance, Judy and Nick watched the whole scene unfold with the widest of grins.

"You know Slick, this is one of your best ideas yet," Judy stated, bringing her phone out of a pouch on her belt, and snapping a quick picture of the slack-jawed detectives.

"Foxes aren't known for being sly without a reason, Carrots," Nick rejoined, snickering loudly with his paw covering his mouth, attempting to cover the noise.

The two watched as a female cheetah and a large grizzly bear walked into the room, greeting Yax and spotting the two wide-eyed detectives staring at them.

"Hey Sharlene. Hey Wilbur. We have some guests that would like the grand tour of the place, hehe."

"Oh, perfect," the cheetah purred, tail twitching and grin widening as she saw the two startled officers. She walked over to them, stopping in front of Delgato who see gave a quick once-over to. The tiger seemed to pale slightly and his tail shot straight behind him as the female cheetah gently traced her arm up the tiger's own until she had them linked at the elbows, with her leaning into his side.

The tiger looked like he had become a statue, as not even his eyes were blinking due to his shock.

"I think I can take this handsome feline out," the cheetah said with a wink to Yax, "Think you can handle our other guest, Wilbur? I want to take this fella out for a full tour."

The grizzly chuckled, and within just a few steps had walked over to the wolf and collected him into a massive bear-hug.

"Oh, we're going to have so much fun, you and I," the bear laughed as he trudged through the open doorway. "Can I call you George?" the bear asked the stunned wolf, who's shallow whine the bear took as a yes. "Good, we will have a fun tour you and I bunny rabbit.

"Oh, I forgot to mention, hehe," Yax began, moving his braided hair out of his eyes. "Wilbur is a bit short sighted."

"Are you serious?" Fangmeyer yelped as the bear gave him a big hug. The wolf turned his gaze to the massive bear. "I'm not a bunny rabbit!"

"Not a bunny rabbit George?" Wilbur asked, poking the wolf in his snout. "Then how come you have long ears, how come?"

"Help me," Fangmeyer gasped towards Nick and Judy as the bear walked out into the courtyard, telling 'George' how it is bad to lie, followed by Sharlene pulling a still stunned Delgato behind her. Judy and Nick held their laughter in until the doors again closed, then it all came out at once. The two laughed for several minutes, wiping at their eyes and breathing heavily.

"Did you get all that on camera?" Nick asked as he watched Judy put her phone back into the pouch for it on her belt.

The doe nodded. "I think we have enough now to cancel out what they have on us from before."

His eyes widening in surprise, it took only a moment for Nick to then shake his head, chuckling softly. "You are quite a sly bunny," he replied, taking a moment to rub his paw atop her head to her annoyance. They turned their attention back to Yax, who was still staring at the door.

"So, Yax, we have some questions for you about a certain friend of yours…"

 


	35. The Hunt

A huge smile lit up Yax's face. "Oh for sure! I don't have the greatest memory so I might not be of help, but I can try, hehe."

"Great!" Judy chirped, her own grin going from cheek to cheek as she reached towards her belt and procured a picture. "We were wondering if you might recognize this zebra." The bunny passed the photo along to the yak, who brushed his long, unwashed dreadlocks out of the way to view it. He stared at it for several moments, Nick watching from the side with his normal carefree, half lidded gaze, even though internally his mind was flustered.

Judy, as always, was showing her internal thoughts on her sleeve, as her grin slowly began to vanish as the time the yak took to look at the picture went on, and on, and on.

"So..." she began, leaning forward, her right paw extended towards the beaded bovine. "Do you know this mammal?"

Her voice seemed to bring him out of his trance, startling the larger mammal as his whole body shook. His eyes blinked witlessly several times before he looked back down at the fox and rabbit. "Yeah..." Yax replied glumly. "I know that guy. Old Harold hehe, though they aren't the happiest of memories."

"And why weren't they?" Nick chimed in, leaning against the desk with his elbow, though, as it was a bit taller than himself, all that Yax could see were the black tips of his ears. Yax couldn't see what he was doing, but then again, Nick didn't want him to while the fox's paw was fidgeting over his tranquilizer. Judy noticed, yet couldn't blame him for doing so. Neither really knew what Yax would do if he was involved, even if both of them wanted to believe Yax was innocent. After all, without him, they'd never have solved the Missing Mammals case a few years earlier.

"Well," Yax began. "I used to look up to him a lot, since he had everything I wanted to have. A good life, lots of friends, and a real good memory too. Then it all just changed...you know?"

Judy glanced over at Nick, who chuckled softly at the comment, while Judy grinned at the memories brought back from Yax's wish to have a 'mind like an elephant'.

"Care to elaborate on that for us, buddy?" Nick asked.

"Oh for sure," Yax replied, though his usual cheery nature had nearly completely evaporated, his words ringing hollow in the heavily perfumed air of the lobby. "I knew him back when I was a kit. Good mammal back before he met Steven. That little dude seemed to change Harold," the larger mammal then sighed heavily, "and myself."

Judy's ears perked up as he mentioned the name. Taking out her notepad and recorder pen, she quickly jotted the name down, having Yax spell it for her. "Does this mammal have a last name?" Judy asked, intent on finding out how this mysterious Steven was. Looking over at Nick, she saw past his mask and knew that he was fixated upon whom this Steven might be as well. Catching Judy's eye, he gave her a soft smile before looking back up towards the yak.

"Yeah, I don't think I could forget his last name even if I tried," Yak chuckled. "Last name is Furzer. Always thought it was a funny name as a kit though I never told me that, hehe."

"Wait..." Nick's eyes widened, his mask disappearing in a flash as he quickly turned towards Judy. "Do you mean Steven Furzer, _the_ CEO of Furzer Pharmaceuticals?"

"Yep, that's the one," Yax replied, noticing the wide eyed glances the fox and rabbit were giving each other. "What, something wrong with him?" Yax gasped loudly. "Don't tell me I forgot his birthday again. It's hard to forget when a mammal has a birthday of February 29th. Poor dude isn't even nine yet, hehe."

"Can you excuse us for a moment?" Judy asked the larger mammal, who nodded.

"For sure! I'll just be here meditated if you need me."

"Right," Judy said with a nod, before grabbing Nick's paw and nearly sprinting towards the far corner of the lobby. The fox had several teasing comments playing on the tip of his tongue about her holding his paw, yet with how visibly shocked he was at learning the identity of one of his bullies who now led a massive corporation, none of the comments could form. His mind was going too fast over the complications this could raise to their case, _especially_ if he was involved in it.

Judy soon let go of his paw and began to pace, though Nick was still shocked and could barely focus on her as things _finally_ began clicking into place. Thankfully, Judy noticed after a few measured lengths of pacing, and snapped her fingers in front of his eyes, startling him out of his trance.

"Nick, I know this news is worrying but..."

" _Just_ worrying, Carrots?" Nick shot back, a little more anger in his voice than he intended. The comment caught Judy off guard, and she jumped slightly, eyes widening and nose slightly twitching at his hasty comment. Nick's ears instantly drew themselves down and he let out a frustrated sigh. "Sorry, it's just that learning that the childhood bully who muzzled you is now one of the most powerful CEO's in Zootopia is kind of a stunner, and not in a good way." He noticed Judy's ears fall back, her paw reaching out to hold his own as she gently rubbed his paw.

"I understand Nick," she whispered, stepping closer to him, drawing him into a hug when she noticed his tail and neck fur bristling. "This might be a legal nightmare, and I'm sure that Bogo is going to hate us if the head of Furzer is involved in all of this."

"We've already taken down two mayors, Fluff, I don't think a CEO is on par with that record," Nick chuckled while stroking Judy's ear. He found that he was enjoying the soft feeling of her fur beneath his paw pads, and wondered how he had gotten so far into their partnership without noticing. He sighed heavily, then with his inhale soaked up the wonderful smell that was all lavender and sweetness that was inherently Judy, that caressed his senses. Between her touch and the beautiful smell of his partner, Nick couldn't help but feel the tension leaving his body.

"But this also makes our jobs a lot easier," Judy replied, breaking his introspection, as Judy looked up past his muzzle into his eyes, as he looked down into hers. "With Steven being one of Harold's childhood friends, and now with him being the Chief of security for Furzer after all these years, it means that Steven could know where Harold went. Furzer might not even be involved, just like Yax over there doesn't seem to be." Judy pointed towards the mammal behind the registry desk, who sat in meditation as if nobody else was around. "Sure Bogo might be a little annoyed..."

"A little?" Nick quipped, a single eyebrow arching as Judy groaned. "He'd only be a _little_ annoyed if he found the postmammal was stealing his Platypus Clearing House junk mail. I think this goes _beyond_ , a little annoyed."

Judy sighed, though it was halted by the giggle she couldn't keep inside. "Alright, Slick. Maybe a lot annoyed with us...again."

"But when has that stopped us before, eh Carrots?" Nick waggled his eyebrows, and just like that, the light laughter that came from her dispelled the rest of the gloom that had settled over his heart and mind, banishing it like the sun does to the dark night sky as it rises in the morning.

The pair was silent for a moment, just allowing themselves to relax in each other's embrace.

"Do you think he _is_ involved?" Judy finally asked, snuggling in deeper against her fox. She felt more than heard his sigh.

"Take your pick, Carrots," Nick replied. "Yax, Steven, or both?"

"Either of them?" Judy asked with a twinge of sadness etched into her voice. She hated the idea that the yak sitting just a few feet away, one that was instrumental in helping them solve her first big case, well, _their_ , first big case, could be helping a mammal out to kill them. "I really hope that Yax isn't involved. I just feel like he isn't though"

"Only one way to find out." She heard a metallic clink and saw Nick pulling out his cuffs. "Do you want bad cop or good cop this time?"

" _Nick…"_ Judy drawled, pushing away from the fox while placing her paws upon her hips. "I thought you said you didn't think Yax was involved and we have no reason to bring him in!" She pointed towards the yak before changing to point at Nick's cuffs.

Nick simply smiled as he swung the cuffs around one of his fingers. "Who said they were for Yax?"

It took a moment, but once Judy understood what Nick meant, her eyes widened in shock and humiliation as her eyes rapidly moved from Nick's smirk to the swinging cuffs, then back to his face.

The surprise quickly turned though, as she took a step forward, her gaze half lidded as her own smirk formed. The stunner came when she placed her paw onto Nick's chest, rubbing it in a lazy half circle, causing the vulpine to gulp nervously.

"Why _Nick_ , I didn't know you wanted me to do that to you. Maybe you were a con-artist all those years because you were _hoping_ for the feeling of metal around your wrists."

The smirk that had been on Nick's face disappeared immediately, turning into the same look she'd seen on him when she had caught him for tax evasion two years earlier.

"Naughty bunny," Nick finally groaned, putting back his cuffs onto his belt. "I swear I'm a bad influence on you. "What would Bogo say about his innocent bunny cop if he heard you say that."

"Which parts? You in cuffs or how you're rubbing off on me?"

Nick could only grin as he ruffled the fur between Judy's ears. "Ah you bunnies, you grow up so fast." The two stared at each other, smiles on their faces, before Nick spotted a slight blush growing in Judy's ears.

"I guess we should get back to the case now," she said, pointing towards Yax, while making no move towards the other mammal.

"Probably should," Nick replied, rooted to his own spot as he placed his paws in his pocket. Judy let out a nervous chuckle before Nick sighed. Placing the pawcuffs onto his belt loop, he put out his arms and motioned with his paws for Judy to come to him.

"Come on. One hug and then back to the case-oof!"

Judy's eyes sparkled and before Nick could even finish she was pulling him close and tight.

"Wow," Nick replied, as he wrapped his own paws around Judy. "Be careful with those hugs Carrots, or there won't be anything left of your fox at the rate you're squeezing me. I'm not a tube of toothpaste in a fox costume."

Judy giggled before letting go, eyes shining with amusement as she glanced up at him. "Now come on Slick, let's go see what Yax knows about our suspect."

"Well now, my rambunctious rabbit," Nick chuckled as they walked towards Yax. "Let's go see just how far down the rabbit hole this conspiracy goes."

He sidestepped a playful jab from Judy as she cast a grumpy frown at him, one tainted with the small vestiges of a smile judging by how the corners of her mouth had turned upwards.

"Hopefully not too far," Judy stated as she walked past Nick, back towards Yax. "I think we've had our fill of taking down huge conspiracies."

Nick gasped, placing his paw over his heart while placing the backside of his paw against Judy's forehead.

"What are you doing Nick?" she asked, playfully swatting his paw away.

"Just checking to see if you're ill, as I never thought I'd see the day when Judy Hopps actually doesn't _want_ to bust a bad mammal."

Judy smiled. "Oh, I'm more than willing to bust Steven if he's involved, but I'd rather deal with Harold first. _Nobody_ tries to hurt _my_ fox."

Nick slowed, pride and love pooling in his heart for the bunny walking ahead of him as he repeated her words in his mind.

 _My fox..._ he thought happily, humming to himself as he picked up the pace to match Judy's, looking down at the cheerful smile on her face.

_My bunny._

* * *

In both a good and a bad twist of fate, the conspiracy didn't seem to go very far, as Yax hadn't seen either Harold or Steven in nearly twenty years and three months according to his recollection, one which neither Judy nor Nick were doubting anytime soon. Also to their astonishment, Yax freely confessed to everything he had done as a child, saying his sorrow about his past was what made him decide to become a naturalist. To quote the yak, ' _I became a naturalist because I needed to live like this as a cathartic experience to rid myself of my childhood guilt, thus the meditative lifestyle that allows me to fully experience the cleansing power of nature-therapy at its highest apex._ '

Honestly, neither Nick nor Judy could understand half of what he meant as he got into the sociological aspects of his lifestyle switch, but both were rather grateful that they no longer needed to suspect Yax of any wrongdoing, especially when his alibi checked out that he hadn't left Mystic Springs in over ten years was corroborated by several passing naturalists. Some of whom had even mentioned he had foregone technology completely, while an aardvark whispered to the duo that nobody had even seen him use the showers or pool in the decade of time that he had spent there.

It was then that both smaller mammals took another step away from the yak as they finally understood the reason for the fly swarm buzzing around his head.

Neither Nick nor Judy felt it would be right to inform the yak that Nick was one of those mammals that his group had muzzled over time. He'd broken down twice while confessing his childhood ways, and Judy in particular had felt that if they had told him just who the fox standing before him was, that might break the poor mammal.

So the two said farewell, after asking if the personal tours for Fangmeyer and Delgato would be ending soon. The yak waved over a hippo and asked to bring their friends back, giving the pair a few minutes of time with each other. Deciding to wait outside, the pair began walking to their cruiser, thinking back onto the experience they had just shared, though judging by the slight smile that crept up upon Nick's face as the two said their goodbyes to Yax, Judy could tell that Yax wasn't the only one to benefit from their meeting.

"You know Nick, I'm beginning to think that we should start coming back to this place more often."

Nick's ears shot up as he looked at the bunny walking at his side. With her looking forward as they walked towards the exit of the building, he couldn't tell anything about what prompted the comment.

"I thought you didn't like the Naturalist lifestyle, Carrots?"

"Oh, I don't," she replied merrily, smiling brightly as she turned to face him. "But seeing you smile like you are now is worth coming back here."

The fox halted immediately, staring after Judy who just sent him a wonderful grin that only made his heart beat faster.

Nick took a step forward, intent on rewarding Judy with a kiss, when the doors to the inner courtyard tore open, a haggard tiger with a slightly untucked uniform carrying an equally harried looking wolf under his arm as he sprinted out of the open area. Delgato sprinted right past the fox and rabbit, whose wide eyes were soon replaced by smiles and laughter as they saw a female cheetah soon appear in the now open doors.

"Mi amor, please come back!" the cheetah cried, reaching her paw after the tiger who had just reached the front doors and burst through them, though dropping Fangmeyer in his attempt to leave. A large grizzly bear appeared behind the cheetah, a sad frown covering his face.

"It is ok Sharlene, it's ok. I think he'll come back Sharlene, he'll come back."

The cheetah half purred, half sniffled as she saw the tiger disappear out the door. "But him and I, we were going to watch the setting of the sun together, then purr long into the night, cuddled in one another's embrace." Several tears ran down the cheetah's cheeks as a giant grizzled paw placed itself gently onto her shoulder. The cheetah wept as the bear guided her back into the courtyard.

Nick looked at Judy. Judy looked at Nick. Both looked to the cheetah, then to Fangmeyer, who still was lying stunned on the floor, eyes wide and arms wrapped around himself like a blanket. Finally, their gaze settled on the front door.

Nick eventually broke the silence after nearly a minute.

"Well, that went well."

* * *

Judy and Nick, after apologizing, somewhat unsuccessfully, for sending them off like they had, informed Fangmeyer and Delgato about the tips that Yax had been able to give them. They were quite shocked to hear that the CEO of Furzer was a personal friend of their suspect, and the tiger specifically had his worries about what it would entail regarding their investigation.

"He just better not be a part of it," the tiger had grumbled, before rolling up his window and started his cruiser.

The drive back to the precinct was mostly like the drive to Mystic Springs - silent, but for other reasons than before. Judy knew that Nick still would be processing the information they had garnered, and Nick, while always enjoying their playful banter, was grateful for the silence she was giving him.

Though her holding his paw the entire drive back to Precinct One helped quite a bit as well.

As soon as they arrived at the precinct, Judy groaned. Nick looked at his partner, then at where her paw was pointed, and frowned. In a repeat of what had seemingly become routine for them, reporters were waiting to interview the fox and the rabbit whenever they appeared, most likely regarding the latest, rather public, details of their case and now revealed relationship.

"Nick, do you know any lawyers?"

The fox grinned. "Of course, I know everybody, Carrots."

"Do you think you can find one who could get us a restraining order on the Press?"

Nick laughed aloud for several moments, before settling for a sly grin. "Why Officer, are you afraid of those mammals over there?"

Judy settled for just glaring at her partner as she jumped out of the cruiser, Delgato and Fangmeyer already guarding their cruiser as the fox and bunny began their walk towards the precinct. It wasn't long before the reporters saw the four mammals coming, and sprinted towards them, questions leaping out at them like crickets from an undercooked Buga-Burger.

"Officer Hopps! What can you tell us about the video posted on Ewetube?"

"Officer Wilde! Are you really in love with Officer Hopps?"

"Officer Wilde! What can you tell us about the zebra that attacked you!"

"Officers, with your new relationship, do you think you can address your partnership while working at the ZPD?"

The questions came fast and loose, mainly about their relationship as if the _actual_ news about a murderous zebra was something that belonged on page D9 after an article on how best to nurture your radish garden through a snap freeze. Fangmeyer and Delgato do a marvelous job at creating a pathway through the flashing cameras and cameras to get the four into the Precinct 1 unscathed, and both smaller mammals were quite thankful for the help the tiger and wolf had provided them. The reaction inside, though just as loud and just as embarrassing, was much more appreciated.

Roars and howls were shouted their way as they walked towards the stairs leading to Bogo's office. Apparently nearly everyone, from the technicians in the Archives to the quartermaster in the equipment room had either heard, or had heard of the pair's conversation in their cruiser. Judy pulled her ears over her eyes, allowing Nick to quickly guide her to the stairs with his paw on her back.

 _"Are you letting them get to you, Carrots?"_ He whispered into her ear.

"Yes…" came her murmured reply, before she released her ears. A nervous smile shot his direction as he laughed, earning one in return from the rabbit, as well as a soft elbow to his side.

"HOPPS! WILDE!"

"Already coming Chief!" Nick yelled over at their boss when he reached the top of the stairs. Bogo grunted and turned towards them, pointing his hoof at his door before storming over to it.

"Guess we know what mood he's in today," Nick snarked, settling his famous mask into place, his lazy grin hiding his emotions better than Clawhauser could hide a dozen donuts.

"Would that be irritated, or annoyed?" Fangmeyer asked, grinning as Delgato rolled his eyes.

"Let's just get this over with," Delgato growled. "I'd much have rathered to have gone straight to Furzer and follow this new lead than to have come back here to explain to Chief why you nearly wrecked your cruiser."

"Judy was no where close to wrecking the cruiser," Nick joked, raising an eyebrow as he grinned at his partner. "Now that tree the cruiser almost plowed into on the other paw…"

Nick stopped when he saw the frustrated glare upon the bunnies face.

"Alright boss, I'm keeping quiet."

* * *

"Delgato and Fangmeyer will be taking over the case."

Those were the first words uttered by Bogo as the four mammals entered their boss' room.

"What?!" Both rabbit and fox shouted in unison, staring wide eyed at their boss. "Why?" Judy added, waving her paws around her. "If it weren't for us, we'd have no leads as to who is after us or even where he is right now. If we just talk to Furzer than we can-"

Bogo scowled. "If it weren't for you, there would be no case to begin with, as apparently Wilde is, and has been, the target all along. And no, _you_ will not be talking to Furzer, Delgato and Fangmeyer will be." The cape buffalo may have been talking to Judy, but Nick felt the full bore of his statement. The threats, the violence, the deaths…all because of his past that seemed to finally have caught up to him.

"But sir," Judy begged, ears drooping behind her.

"This is an order, Hopps," Bogo replied icily, cutting her off. "I've already bent enough rules while putting my tail on the line for you two and what have we to show for it?" Bogo pulled his computer screen around and pointed at it with his hoof. "The news outlets are blowing up with reports about how the ZPD can't seem to find the first serial killer Zootopia has had in decades!"

"I'd hardly call the Zootopia Inquirer a news outlet, sir," Delgato huffed. "And if you were to-"

"Shut your mouth Delgato!" Bogo roared, slamming a hoof upon his desk. The Chief's gaze switched back to focus on Judy and Nick with a snort. "Now then, I want you two to do _anything_ but make the migraine I feel coming worse. Patrol duty, desk work, I don't care. Just make sure you leave Steven Furzer to Delgato and Fangmeyer. Am I clear?"

Judy nodded her head, though she was startled when she only heard Nick sliding off their chair.

"Wilde, where are you going?" Bogo grunted, raising an eyebrow as the fox reached the door.

_If it weren't for me…_

"Solving your problem, sir."

Judy could feel the sorrow flooding into her partner's words, his normally stoic emotional mask seeming to have shattered completely. "Nick?"

Nick didn't feel himself opening the door, nor did he feel the tug of Judy's paw on his arm, the rabbit calling out to him, asking what was wrong. It wasn't until he reached the front desk and was halted in his tracks by a sullen Judy standing in front of him, that he finally came to himself.

"Nick, you can't blame yourself for this."

Nick paused, looking down at his partner, allowing any of his defensive pretense to fall completely as his ears sagged further.

"Judy, Chief Buffalo Butt is right about this one. Harold isn't after _you_ , he's after _me._ And the more you're around me, the more likely you'll be hurt because of this hatred of his. I'm going to request a transfer until he's caught. That way at least you'll be safe and can find him for us."

"What are you talking about Nick?!" Judy growled, growing frustrated with this new side of him she hadn't seen before. She knew they both cared for each other, but this, this was ridiculous! "Look, I don't care if there were a hundred Harolds after us. I'd _still_ be your partner through all of it. What ever happened to the fox who didn't let things get to him?"

"He met you," Nick replied softly.

Judy's voice was taken from her at the softness of Nick's words. She didn't even care about Clawhauser peering down at them from above his station, or the dozens of officers, detectives and citizens that had all stopped everything they were doing to stare at the two smallest ZPD officers.

She didn't even care about the reporters just outside the front door busily snapping pictures of the two gazing at each other. The only thing she cared about at that moment was the red furred mammal standing in front of her, whose soul it seemed like the universe was trying to crush.

"Oh Nick," Judy whispered, taking a step towards him, halting as he put up his paw to stop her.

"Carrots, I don't want to see you hurt. I saw enough of that after the night howler press conference. Every tv I ever passed in this city I saw your bright smile fading with every day that went by and as more and more mammals were attacked. If I request a transfer, or maybe work desk duty for a while, Harold might just give up and you can go out there and solve this thing without having to worry about me distracting you."

"Nick, you aren't a distraction," Judy huffed. "We wouldn't even have the leads we have now without you and your ideas."

"You mean like today in the cruiser?"

The question caught Judy off-guard, and her silence was met by a nod from Nick. "Carrots, he's after _me._ And he'll go through any means apparently to cruel about it. If he is willing to murder random mammals to try and instill fear in _us_ , what's to say he won't try to do something to get to me.

"All the more reason we need to stick _together_ Nick!" Judy all but screamed. "Do you think it will be easier to take him on together, or try and pick us apart? I get where you're coming from as I'm worried about you just as much as you are about me but _trust_ me. We'll only get him together and not if you shut yourself up downstairs in records counting mothballs."

"But…"

"But _nothing_ , Nick…" Judy nearly growled. "So what would happen if I don't have you by my side and someone Harold gets a hold of me? Imagine what would have happened at the Blueberry Festival if you weren't around."

Nick hung his head, knowing she was right. He had hoped she wouldn't bring up that argument against him, as he had thought of it himself just as soon as he had told her he wanted to transfer.

 _This is why you're supposed to think before speaking..._ Nick thought, groaning as he looked into her eyes.

"Carrots, I-"

"Don't you 'Carrots' me, Nick," Judy growled, pushing her finger into her chest. "I don't know what has caused this emotionally angst filled Nick to appear," she stated as she prodded his chest, "but I want my old partner back and, by peas and cabbage, I'll force him to come back if I have to."

"Judy…"

The bunny railroaded over him, again poking him. "Look, in order to solve this case, I need my partner back. My _real_ partner. Now, are you going to allow this delusional creep change the fox I love, or are you going to keep acting like a melodramatic kit!"

Nick, for once, was speechless. His mind whirled in activity. He _had_ been acting out of sorts lately, but, he thought, who could blame him? Having a spectre that haunted your past suddenly return and make several attempts on your life in quick succession? It was liable to even crack Finnick's hard exterior.

He just wanted Judy safe? Was that too much to ask?

 _You know that is..._ Nick reminded himself. _You're both officers and she's Judy Hopps. The most indomitable spirit to ever walk into the halls of the ZPD. You can't keep her safe always, but you can at least be there for her._

The fox sighed heavily, his vision falling to the floor. He saw Judy's foot rapidly thumping against the tile, creating a hollow thudding sound with each tap. Turning his head upwards, he caught her gaze connecting with his own, the resolve in her eyes and determination etched into her every feature causing his heart to suddenly do several flips.

 _Don't let your fear get to you_...he chided himself as he stared into his partner's eyes, allowing her strength and determination to filter into his soul. _Be the fox Judy knows you are...the one you want to be._

For what seemed like the hundredth time that day, Nick let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head as he allowed a small grin to creep upon his face.

"You know Carrots, you're going to be the death of me one of these days."

"I'm the _only_ one who is allowed to be the death of you _Officer_ Wilde," Judy retorted, giving the fox a deep surge of pride as she used his title that reminded him so much of why he was here; why he had given up a life of hustling mammals to join this bunny of all mammals in her own dream.

Nick allowed his grin to broaden. "I guess that means we have patrol duty to do, partner?"

Judy's smile surged in warmth and Nick could feel it in every muscle and bone in his body. "You should know me better than that by now, Nick," she chided, her smile suddenly transforming into a smirk.

"You know," Nick stated, placing a paw upon his chin. "Bogo never told us _where_ we could do our police work..."

Judy's smirk broadened as she patted Nick's chest. "I knew my sly fox was still in there."

The stationhouse was still as all eyes were focused on the two mammals. Even Bogo, who had followed them and was standing at the top of the steps alongside Delgato and Fangmeyer, was silent, absorbing the scene before him.

Bogo's mind was a flurry of thoughts and crisscrossing ideas. He couldn't hear what Wilde and Hopps were talking about, but even without his glasses he could see the emotions playing between them like electricity bouncing between live wires. He wasn't one to allow them to get shocked by it.

"Delgato."

The tiger turned to face his boss. "Yes Chief?"

Bogo kept his eyes trained on the scene playing out below. "I shouldn't have to say it, but keep a careful eye on those two." Sighing, the buffalo leaned against the guardrail as he spoke. "I have a feeling that they are going to cause me to break out my emergency whiskey supply," Bogo groaned. "I never should have placed those two on this case to begin with. That's clear enough now."

Watching his boss rubbing at the bridge of his nose, the tiger looked back down towards the fox and rabbit, the fox now stroking the ears of the bunny, much to her apparent embarrassment _and_ enjoyment.

"Sir," Delgato began, keeping his eyes trained on the partners below. "I think it was a good idea that you kept them on this case."

Bogo grunted, which Delgato had through his many years of working alongside his boss during numerous investigations learned to take as an invitation to continue.

"Well," Delgato explained, "for starters, they've probably learned more about police work and being a detective in the past two weeks than _I_ picked up in my first year. Excuse the language, but they'll make _damn_ good detectives with their observational and investigative skills, sir."

"Three dead mammals isn't the way to learn investigative skills," Bogo interrupted with a snort. The tiger's tail curled around the feline's feet.

"I understand boss, but that is where my second point comes in." At that, Bogo actually took his eyes off the scene below and faced his detective.

"Care to elaborate for me, Delgato?"

The tiger nodded calmly. "Just like the fear that the night howler fiasco caused years ago, the pain the city is going through, knowing that there is a mammal out there targeting foxes and rabbits right now, is also healing many mammals. Have you seen the news coverage of this case?"

"Course I have," Bogo grunted.

"But," Fangmeyer chimed in, stepping near his colleague, "have you seen what the stations have been _focused_ on?"

Bogo gave the wolf an odd stare, before letting out a gruff, 'no'.

"They are focusing on the plight of foxes in the city, the stereotypes about them and rabbits, as well as how well Hopps and Wilde are seen working _together._ The video that went viral of them at the fair has truly woken up the city to how hard it must be for them to do what they do, and after talking to other officers on the beat, I'm finding that they are getting thanked for what they do a lot more than before. The public is building support _for_ them, and for once, the media actually isn't hurting the situation, they're _helping_ it by bringing mammals together."

Bogo looked at both his detectives, then turned to look back down at the fox and rabbit, both of whom seemed to have returned to their playful attitudes of before.

The chief remembered all too well how the media had stoked the fires of hate during the night howler fiasco, and it wasn't until Hopps' and Wilde's closure of the case, arrest of Bellwether and _several_ press conferences explaining what was happening, that the press had calmed down.

 _Maybe they've learned their lessons after all_...Bogo pondered, hoping that his thoughts could be true. He watched as Nick and Judy climbed the stairs towards him, the fox giving him a wink and a thumbs up while the bunny playfully shoved her partner.

Bogo smiled, shaking his head tiredly. _I think we all need a little of what those two share right now…_

The two smaller officer greeted the two detectives and their Chief with warm smiles, ones which instantly put Bogo on full alert.

"We've decided we agree with you, Chief," Nick stated matter-of-factly, grinning broadly as Judy had an equally bright and cheerful smile on her face.

"Yep, we're just going to go out on patrol and stay totally safe," Judy added. "Isn't that right Nick?"

'Absolutely, one hundred percent," the fox rejoined.

 _Yep, they're plotting something..._ Bogo groaned internally. The cape buffalo gave both officers a hard glare. "What are you two planning."

The fox gained a shocked expression. "Why sir, we just want to do the civic duty that we swore to uphold by serving this city selflessly. We just want to go out there and make the world a better place."

Nearly a minute passed with Bogo simply glaring at the bunny and fox, yet their cheerful facades didn't even show the tiniest signs of cracking. Annoyed and now frustrated, he snorted loudly. "Alright, just whatever you do, I don't want you going near Furzer, understood?"

"Absolutely Chief," Judy replied, giving him a crisp salute. "We'll make sure that we don't go near Furzer at all today." As she lowered her salute and turned to leave, Nick following shortly after with a two finger salute of his own, Bogo groaned.

"Delgato."

"Yes Chief?" the tiger replied.

"Make sure those two don't get into any trouble."

The tiger grinned. "That's impossible sir. Trouble finds them whether you want it to or not. Remember the paperclip incident when you put them on desk duty?"

Fangmeyer laughed as Bogo groaned. "Don't remind me…" he stated before trudging back to his office, slamming the door loudly.

"Well, we probably should figure out what our two troublemakers are about to do," Delgato sighed.

"I doubt it will be anything big," Fangmeyer chuckled, still thinking back to seeing Bogo buried under a massive pile of paperclips a few months prior.

The tiger stopped and glared at the wolf. "You really just didn't say that, did you?"

"What," Fangmeyer replied. "It's not like they can get into any more trouble than they're already in."

Delgato groaned. "Karma help us."


	36. Chapter 36

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edited by AngloFalcon
> 
> Advice/Help by Zeronone & Eng050599

The road and buildings passed them by as they drove down the highway, the sun cheerfully shining down upon the their cruiser.

"Nick…"

"Yes, Carrots?"

"Chief is going to give us parking duty for a month. You know this, right?"

The fox nodded his head. "Undoubtedly."

Judy sighed into her paw as she looked out the window of their cruiser, watching as they passed mile upon mile of suburbia located in the Meadowlands District. "Do you think he already knows what we're doing?"

"I think he'll suspect something from us," Nick replied, turning on his blinker as he merged the police vehicle onto a familiar off-ramp. "I haven't heard Delgato or Fangmeyer give us away yet, and _technically_ we aren't visiting Steven, so I don't know how he could get mad at us for still following his directions." The fox shot her a quick wink before slowing to a stop at the intersection at the end of the off-ramp.

"It still seems somewhat-"

"Dubious? Almost crossing the line? Flagrant disregard of Bogo's sanity?" Nick quickly chimed in, causing Judy to shake her head and offer a quick laugh.

"I was thinking 'sly', but those work as well." Judy watched the houses and small businesses they passed by, suddenly grateful that Nick offered to drive to Furzer. Usually she never got to enjoy looking at the events parading past their window as her attention was always focused on the road ahead and getting to their destination. Like the two oxen that were sipping coffee outside a Snarlbucks, laughing at what must have been a joke, or the mother ewe skipping along the sidewalk with her lamb.

Or one particular sight that caused her to laugh when she saw the mother rabbit pushing along a length of five double-wide strollers, each containing a baby bunny while her other paw guided a string of seven more behind her.

"So is that what it was like for you growing up?" Nick mused aloud.

"Hmm?" Judy asked, turning her view from out the window and onto her partner, who gave her a sideways glance. "Oh, the rabbit family?" she asked, pointing toward the figure behind her.

"No, I meant the two beavers playing cops and robbers ahead of us," Nick snickered, pointing ahead of their cruiser as indeed there were two young beavers, one dressed all in blue while another wore a black and white striped shirt.

Judy rolled her eyes, "Har, har, Slick. But to answer your question, both of them do actually."

Nick's eyes widened in mock surprise. "You mean you had a sibling that wanted to be a criminal when they grew up?" He added a high pitched gasp just for show as they passed by the two beaver kits, Judy waving to them as they drove past. Both waved excitedly in return before going back to their games.

"Well, now that you mention it…" Judy drawled, placing a paw to her chin in part to hide the smirk appearing there. She didn't miss Nick's raised eyebrow and the sudden perk of his ears. "I did have one sister who wanted to be the opposite of me in every way growing up. She was from a younger litter and decided to be my opposite."

"Well that's cu-er, adorable." Nick grinned, feeling a slight amused glare from his partner before she laughed off his slip of the tongue.

"Anyways," Judy continued. "Since she saw me wanting to be an officer, chasing after my siblings and 'arresting' them for breaking house rules, she decided to try and be a criminal and purposely broke all the rules she could."

"How long did that last?" Nick asked, now curious as to another aspect of Judy's homelife. He added with a wink. "Did you put her in bunny prison?"

Judy laughed, grinning at the memory. "Didn't have to. Since I enjoyed acting more like my brothers than my sisters, she had gone the opposite and wore a lot of makeup. After I caught her trying to steal the remote for the tv when she was about to throw it into the pond, I threatened to take her makeup away and that was the end of that."

Loud laughter filled the cruiser as Nick shook his head. "Such a brutal punishment, Officer Hopps. I'd consider that police brutality."

A peaceful quiet fell upon them after that as Nick continued to drive, both officers grinning and simply enjoying the time to themselves after such a hectic past week. Turning her gaze back to the houses they were passing, which were becoming fewer and fewer as they made their way into quasi-farmland, Judy relished the feelings it gave her of home. The broadening landscape of fields and meadows reminded her of the verdant pastures of Bunnyburrows, and she briefly felt a stab of longing for her old home.

She missed this aspect of life that driving had taken away from her, and suddenly realized why Nick always claimed shotgun. Turning to the fox, she let her gaze fall upon the smile he had, a slight hum to an unfamiliar song on his lips as he turned the wheel, heading down the last road towards the large corporate offices ahead as the final aspects of suburbia passed behind them.

"So, what's the plan," Nick asked, directing their cruiser onto a well maintained road, with ornately trimmed hedges and trees lining each side as they came up upon a recognizable guard shack.

Both of them, after having been ordered by Bogo to relinquish the physical aspects of the case to detectives Delgato and Fangmeyer, launched themselves into a flurry of activity and paperwork, divvying out assignments between themselves to accomplish the work twice as fast. They may have been told they weren't allowed to investigate Steven's connection to Harold, however, that didn't mean they couldn't help the tiger and wolf out on the paperwork side. Judy had decided to tackle the information regarding the night howler toxin used, calling up Dr Aroughcun, who had the night howler sample the TUSK team had found in their raid on Harold's home. Then she contacted Dr Woods to follow up on her autopsies of the victims, as well as the hospital where Gideon had been transported to, the same that had been used to treat all previous savage mammal cases.

The raccoon had informed her that the toxin was indeed different from the samples they had taken in the past, but was unsure about the chemical analysis of it as that would take another few days to run it though. Dr Arroughcun had already run tests through his mass spectrometer, but wouldn't have enough data to make a conclusion about the toxin's properties for a while.

"It will take a couple of days," was his final thoughts on the matter. "We know this is a new strain, but at this point, that's about it."

Dr Woods was a little more helpful, but not by much. The jaguar had found that the arctic hare killed by Harold indeed had an entirely different strain of night howler than that which was found at Harold's home. Her notes on the novel toxin were quite comprehensive...and thoroughly indecipherable to the two officers.

The toxicology reports she had received from the hospital and compared to her own conclusions, showed that it had been diffused in such a way that it would affect lagomorphs more quickly than other animals. "The toxin has been bonded to a protein carrier, which was selectively glycosylated to render it inactive. These carbohydrates were cleaved from the surface by the fermentative action of the bacteria found in the _Oryctolagus_ cecum. This process takes several hours, but the end result is that the activated toxin can enter directly into the bloodstream through the intestinal lumen, resulting in the regression of the mammal into a savage state."

Even will all that they had seen, that wasn't even the most startling bit of information from her however.

"It would appear that while the hare was targeted with this serum that eventually killed her due to sudden cardiac arrest, the fox showed signs of bruising under his fur, as well as internal hemorrhaging. The poor mammal was beaten to death in such a way to deliver the maximum amount of pain even though his body didn't show it at first glance."

 _That_ bit of news worried Judy, and she found herself biting on her bottom lip.

Nick, on the other paw, had gone into the traffic cameras around the scenes of the impound lot, but came up empty as the same jamming hardware which had been used to prevent them from finding the van in the first place had done a better job in blocking the jam cams from capturing the latest vehicle used by their culprit.

With the follow ups done on their leads, and Delgato and Fangmeyer already having spoken with Steven Furzer, both fox and rabbit had become somewhat bored. Even a call from Fangmeyer, letting them know where Harold was hiding had only increased their frustrations at being taken off the case.

Which was why they now found themselves flashing their badges to the guard outside Furzer Pharmaceuticals, who opened the gate and waved them in. As Nick had pointed out, Bogo had specifically instructed them _not_ to talk with Steven Furzer, but had failed to mention anything regarding talking to the eccentric scientists at the facility to follow up on the new anti-toxins being created to cure Gideon Grey of his current savage state.

As Nick parked the cruiser, Judy stared up at the impressive structure before them, her mind not occupied upon the facade, but the mammals on the inside.

_Why would Harold hold this grudge against Nick, and apparently against all predators, for so long…_

"Some mammals just can't let go."

She turned to see Nick showing a frown as he placed his aviators over his eyes, effectively masking his emotions. "Sometimes folks just hold onto their feelings for so long it corrupts them, and they no longer understand the _why_ of their actions, but only that they follow their impulses _._ "

Judy nodded, knowing just how holding such a feeling could affect someone. She had held a secret unknown prejudice of foxes for 15 years, and it had nearly destroyed Zootopia with her bias showing at the press conference.

She understood all too well what fear could spawn, and hoped that someday, maybe like how she and Nick had both changed, the rest of Zootopia could change as well.

Sensing his partner's feelings welling up towards the surface, Nick placed his paw upon her shoulder. "Judy, the past is the past, and it is best to leave it there. Besides," he chuckled, moving his paw from her shoulder to her ears as he ruffled them lightly, earning a 'hey' from Judy, "I think with your tenacity and _cuteness_ , you can convince nearly anyone to become a better mammal."

" _Nick…_ " Judy drawled, her lip curving up into a smirk. "What have I told you about that word and bunnies?"

"After living in Bunnyburrow for a week that I'm officially half rabbit?" Nick grinned while raising his eyebrows.

Judy rolled her eyes, gently hip bumping her partner to both their amusement as they crossed the parking lot and entered the lobby, waving at the receptionist who nodded and smiled at them.

"What can I do for you two officers today?" the receptionist - a female tiger - spoke in a friendly tone.

"We're here to see Dr Coyotah," Judy stated, placing her paws upon the reception desk with a bright smile.

"Of course, I can ring him to let him come out to meet you if you'd li-"

"I think we can find him ourselves," Nick interjected with a smile. "We know where he works so all we need are the guest passes."

The tigress nodded, quickly bringing forth two guest passes from a drawer under her desk, handing them over to the fox and rabbit who quickly put them on.

The fox gave the now puzzled receptionist a lazy two fingered salute and sauntered off after Judy who was already on her way to the lab.

"So, you know where to go Fluff?" Nick asked as they pushed open the double doors leading deeper into the building.

"Not a clue," she chirped merrily. "But at least we don't have to worry about any surprises being prepared for us like last time if Dr Coyotah isn't expecting us."

 _That_ got a rousing round of laughter from both of them as they began trying to find their way through to the laboratory.

* * *

**_(Earlier)_ **

As Judy and Nick dove into the paperwork of the case, detectives Fangmeyer and Delgato made the drive out to Furzer Pharmaceuticals to question the CEO about his chief of security. They had discussed exactly what to bring up with the muskrat, as well as the information they'd need to be given access to in regards to the murderous zebra working under him. They were quickly ushered up to the top floor of the building, and had to wait only a minute before Steven's secretary - a female beaver wearing way too much eyeshadow, according to Fangmeyer - let them know the CEO was ready to see them.

Steven Furzer's office was pretty much on par for what both Delgato and Fangmeyer thought it should appear like: spotless, clean, organized, and most important of all, a shrine to the mammal that abided in the room. Few paintings spotted the walls, but those that existed were all self portraits of the muskrat currently sitting in the seat behind a mahogany desk. Bookcases lined the wall behind him, two loveseats and a sofa sat in front of a desk on a very expensive looking rug, while a line of floor to ceiling windows against the far wall completed the ensemble.

Fangmeyer couldn't help but let out a low whistle as he strolled, paws in pockets, abjectly refusing to show visual signs of deference or awe as the current occupant of the seat behind the desk could be somehow involved with the murderous zebra they were after.

"Quite the fancy place you have here, Mr Furzer," the wolf chuckled.

The muskrat looked up from his desk, adjusted his glasses before grinning broadly.

"Ah, Officers Delgato and Fangmeyer!" he shuffled from off his seat, and for a moment, disappeared below the edge of the desk, the rodent reappearing around the corner of the desk, his paw extended in greeting. "It is such a pleasure to see the both of you as I want to thank you for your service you contribute every day to our city. Now, what can I do for you two gentlemammals?"

 _Seems like a decent enough fellow..._ Fangmeyer thought, even if his smile seemed a bit too broad and pawshake a bit too enthusiastic. Though he didn't have anything to judge it against, but still, something felt off about the merry muskrat who was now shaking Delgato's paw. He sniffed the air as the muskrat's back was turned to him. _Yep, something's off about him._

 _Yep, something is definitely off with this guy..._ Delgato thought. Ten years on the force and half of that as a detective had taught him nearly every trick in the book about how to make correct snap judgements about a mammal. The tiger realized that he probably wasn't nearly as good as Wilde was at this, but then again, that fox seemed to always have a trick or three up his sleeve. The feline kept a warm gaze and enthused pawshake for the CEO, but inwardly was judging every single item in the room.

 _Moist paw over a casual visit, glasses don't seem to fit right, whiskers flicking slightly...yep, something is up here._ It only took a quick glance at the pictures on the wall to realize what it was.

 _Why is he wearing glasses?_ He cast a quick look back at the muskrat, then back up at the paintings. _Maybe for reading?_

"So, I assume you most likely know the pretense for our visit?" Delgato asked, eliciting a sigh from the rodent.

"That I do," Steven replied with in a morose tone. "I had thought that Harold would have changed after all these years, but apparently some mammals don't change their stripes, er…" he looked nervously up at the tiger, who arched an eyebrow at him. "Sorry," the muskrat stammered, "I meant spots."

The tiger nodded slowly as the muskrat fiddled with his glasses. "Look, I'm not one to beat around the bush, but we're following a time sensitive lead and we need all the information on Harold Herdtrotter that you have. Now…"

"Oh right, of course," Steven mumbled, running back to his desk before appearing again on his chair, typing furiously away at his computer. "I saw the news about him, and since he worked here I thought that I should collect as much data as I could about him for whoever would come asking for it."

"What do you mean, 'worked' here?" Fangmeyer asked cautiously.

"He's already been terminated," Steven replied without looking up from his computer. He paused, glancing over at the unamused looks he was given by the two officers. "Ok, so maybe I haven't told him about it yet, but I was hoping that I could do that _after_ he is arrested since he does have a bit of an issue with his anger."

"We've noticed," Delgato growled, earning a nervous laugh from the CEO. "Do you know where he might be hiding?" the big cat asked, leaning against the desk with one paw placed upon it. Even by lowering himself slightly, the tiger still towered over the muskrat, and was currently using that height to his advantage.

Steven smiled nervously. "I can do one better if you'd like me to.."

The muskrat pulled his phone from his pocket, clicking several buttons before bringing the device to his ear. "I can call him up right now and say I have something to give to him so I can get his address. Would that work for you?" he asked, finger hovering over the call button.

"That would be wonderful, thank you," Fangmeyer replied enthusiastically, as his partner nodded in agreement before leaving the front of the desk to peruse the room.

"Alright then," Steven replied, and pressed the button. Fangmeyer could hear the phone ring several times before a raspy, nasally voice sounded on the other side. He couldn't make out the conversation, but he knew exactly who it was as soon as Steven began talking.

"Harold, hey, how're you doing?" The muskrat paused, nodding his head. "Uhuh. Uhuh. Of course. Yes, I can do that for you. What was that?"

The small rodent turned and began pacing the floor under the watchful gaze of the wolf officer, oblivious to the tiger roaming the room.

"Yes. Yes...Yes I already said I can do that, now listen. I have a delivery for you, but I need to know where you're at so I have have it delivered...so? Where are you at?"

The muskrat frowned. "What do you mean 'that place'? You have lots of places that you call that name!" Another pause in the conversation caused Delgato to glance over at Fangmeyer, before the rodent regained their attention.

"The Cloven Hoof? Alright. I can send him over to meet you. Alright, thanks. Bye."

Steven hung up his phone, looking somewhat more relaxed after his conversation with a wanted criminal.

"It would seem he has been hanging out over at The Cloven Hoof bar in the Meadowlands the past day or so...what's wrong?"

Without a second glance back the powerful individual behind them, or even a farewell, the two mammals turned and began to leave.

"You're welcome," Steven grunted, shoving his paws into his pants pockets as the wolf at least waved his paw as he left.

"I'll get Wilde and Hopps on the line," Fangmeyer stated, gaining a nod from the tiger. "Bogo may not want them on this, but I'm sure that they will want to at least watch the raid take place when our suspect is captured."

"I think that would be wise," Delgato grunted as they left the office and its disgruntled inhabitant behind. "Though I wouldn't mind them being on the raid themselves, as we're going to need all the officers we can get to take him in if he's at the Cloven Hoof. The last TUSK raid left there with five injured officers and twenty arrests." Delgato quickly punched in a number on his phone, bringing it to her ear as the gruff voice of Bogo sounded from the other side, while Fangmeyer could be heard conversing with one of the other two officers on his phone.

"Chief, we found where he's hiding."

_"Good," the Chief sounded over the phone. "However, I would like to evaluate this location for myself before I send a task force in. I can send Wolford; he is the undercover officer on duty at the moment. Just let me know where to send him."_

"That's the thing sir," Delgato growled, his annoyance flooding through his usual stoicism. "He's at The Cloven Hoof."

There was silence on the line for several moments until Bogo finally spoke up.

 _"Great..."_ was all he said before hanging up. Delgato looked at his partner, who grinned slightly.

"So," the wolf began, "want to make a bet on whether Bogo breaks out the whiskey by the time we get back?"

Delgato groaned. "Let's just get down to the security room to review the footage and then to records to figure out how this zebra afforded to plan all this out."

"Right," Fangmeyer nodded in agreement, setting off with the tiger as they walked the halls. Thankfully, the security room for the complex wasn't located too far away from where Steven's office was situated, only down the hall and a few steps down the hall. The tiger paused, stepping backwards while craning his neck back.

"Noticing how close this room is to his office?" the wolf stated, picking up on his friend's movement, as he had noticed the same thing while passing.

"Yep." Delgato rumbled.

"Same here. Think that's a coincidence?"

"Nope."

Fangmeyer nodded. "Neither do I," the wolf replied, before knocking on the door labeled 'security'. A few seconds passed before a intercom activated next to the door, as well as a video feed, showing the two cops from above.

"Who is it?" a gruff voice sounded from the intercom.

Delgato glanced at the camera above the door, before bringing out his badge and placing it in front of the camera. "Detectives Delgato and Fangmeyer, here working a case on behalf of ZPD Precinct One."

"Ah, Bogo's boys. Come on in," the voice chimed, much friendlier than before.

A click came from the door and it was pulled open, revealing a grinning middle aged jaguar in a puffy grey security guard jacket. The tiger noticed his posture spoke of some sort of training, and his following comment only solidified his assumption. "Good to see ya lads coming around these parts. Tell me, how's my old partner doing?"

Delgato arched an eyebrow as he stared down at the smaller feline. "Wait, you were partners with Bogo?"

"Reginald O'Pawblerson," the jaguar struck out his paw with a grin, "at your service. And yes, 'tis indeed I was."

The tiger went to shake the smaller cat's paw, when a white one beat him to it.

"So great to see you in the fur, sir," Fangmeyer stated with a toothy grin. "You're the only partner I've ever heard Bogo speak of, so you must have been excellent."

The jaguar offered a hearty laugh. "Well, can't say why you think so highly of me from one mention. All I ever did to old buckwheat for brains was catch his crooks for him." The big cat let out another hearty laugh before waving his paw for the two detectives to follow him inside.

"I reckoned that someone would be coming by to review the video footage of this place once I heard about what Harold - may he rot in a festering pit - had done to those kindly young'uns over at your precinct."

Delgato took a moment to survey the room as the jaguar began typing at his computer. It wasn't a large room by any means, but big enough to have two sets of heavy oak desks with computer stations on them, as well as a bank of servers across from them. A door next to where Reginald was sitting was labeled, 'video monitors'. Other than that, the room was fairly empty, not even a mini-fridge of filing cabinet to be seen. Even the desk next to Reginald was spotless, with not even a piece of fur to be seen at the station, excepting the rather large flask situated next to his desk with a rather large shamrock painted onto the darkened glass.

"Seems like you don't have much room here to keep-"

"Records?" interjected the jaguar with a shake of his head. "Old Harold - may he roast on a spit like a overcooked pheasant - never was a fan of keeping records even though it was company policy to do so. Always went on about how, 'they'll come to bite you in the kester', and all that garbage."

"I take it you didn't get along too well with him?" Delgato questioned, leaning against the wall of the cubicle, though quickly abandoning that idea when the wall started to bend under his weight.

"Never did like the guy - may his brains be knocked about by a good beating - as he always grated on my nerves. Never did agree with Steven hiring him, nor having Harold replace me as Chief of security." The jaguar snarled, grabbing his flask from the desk and taking a deep swig from it before continuing.

"The guy barely did anything when I was around besides rant about predators or complain about the ZPD for firing him." Reginald growled as he typed in a passcode on his computer, a ding sounding from the door next to him as a green light flickered to life. Excusing himself as he stood, the feline walked over and opened the door to a darkened room filled with monitors of locations all over the building.

"So Steven hired him up, just like that?" Fangmeyer asked as the security guard took a seat at another computer and began clicking through files as they appeared on-screen.

Snapping his fingers, the jaguar growled. "Just like that he hired that scumbucket. If I were the boss, I'd have taken a sledgehammer between his legs then taken a knife and-"

"Though I'd love to hear what you'd do to the creep," Delgato interrupted, stopping the ramblings of the guard, "we do have to see if we can find anything that he's been up to in these video files."

"Ah, righty'o my good lads. Forgive me my dislike for him, and I hope you can catch him before he tries anything else. And if you'd like any help I could-"

"Actually…" Fangmeyer tapped his paw to his chin as he sat down in a swivel chair in front of a second keyboard and monitor, "is there a way you could bring us any files on company expenses that Harold may have had? It may allow us to see a pattern to his behavior."

"You got it!" Reginald grinned, before leaving the two detectives with a salute, closing the door behind him.

Silence pervaded the room as the wolf and tiger began searching through video feeds, starting with the day when Mr Shepherd had been turned savage, in the hopes of finding concrete evidence of Harold kidnapping the old ram. It wasn't until nearly ten minutes after the jaguar had left that Delgato turned to his partner.

"So…" he began. "What was the one story you heard Bogo tell about Reginald?"

Fangmeyer grinned, casting the tiger a toothy grin. "Oh, that! Bogo and I were drinking over at O'Malley's, and after a few pints he let slip a comment about a partner of his who when they were in Sahara Square used a cactus to interrogate a subject by tossing the weasel over it several times. He'd mentioned it was a jaguar, so I just put two and two together. Told me that was the day he started keeping a quart of whiskey in his desk."

Delgato blinked, then simply turned back to his computer monitor as Fangmeyer chuckled. _After today..._ the tiger thought... _I wonder if he still has that and would like to share._

_~45 minutes later~_

The pair had managed to find several videos of exactly what they had been looking for. Not only had they found Harold speaking with Dr Shepherd the day of the ram's death, but also found the pair walking towards the company carport and both entering into the van that had Wilde had found to be the one used in the ram's kidnapping.

In addition, Reginald had pulled through for them, and had found several purchases under Harold's name on corporate receipts, showing that the zebra did indeed frequent The Cloven Hoof, and quite often on the company's dime.

 _This guy sure is a real winner..._ Delgato surmised after seeing just how _much_ the zebra had spent at the bar during each visit. _I can't even rack up that kind of tab when I'm buying rounds for everyone at O'Malley's._

"Hey Delgato," Fangmeyer began, sounding a little worried which startled the tiger from his thoughts.

"What?" the tiger stated flatly, taking his focus off the paper in front of him as he placed them on the table.

"I think I found something you aren't going to like."

Delgato groaned while turning to his partner. "And what would that be?"

Pointing at the screen, the wolf offered a cheeky grin. "That."

The tiger followed his paw, then groaned as he placed his paw over his eyes. There on the screen in front of them, was a certain bunny and fox combo talking to a coyote in a lab coat.

The idea to bash his head against the table came to mind as he lowered his paw to look at the camera again. "Why can't they just listen for _once?_ "

* * *

The lab didn't take nearly as long to find as the first time, and thankfully had no 'birthday bombs' set up to greet them as they walked through the doors. They saw a cheetah lean back from behind a cubicle, lazily looking at the guests before his eyes shot open as Nick and Judy waved at him. The big cat flailed in his seat, losing balance before tipping backwards, falling out of his cubicle with a mild groan.

"Ah, visitors! And ones we know at that."

Both fox and rabbit turned to see a familiar coyote in a lab coat walking towards them, the predator grinning broadly while holding his paws out wide. "Officers Wilde and Hopps! Good to see you again and so soon!"

The three mammals quickly shook paws before being ushered further into the lab, the coyote laughing and talking the entire time.

"I saw what you two did on the news the other day. Such daring do's as I've ever seen before! And that other fox, subject A113, such a-"

"You mean Gideon?" Judy said, her tone hinting at annoyance at her childhood bully turned friend being labeled instead of called by his name. Dr Wily looked down at the bunny, puzzlement in his eyes before they flickered wide open.

"Oh, so _that's_ his name. I'll have to log that to my memory for future reference. Anyhow, studying Subject A-, er, I mean Gideon's, toxicology reports have proved _fascinating_. I recognize the protein structures in the toxin from his blood samples from reviewing Dr Shepherd's research on the matter, but the rest contains all brand new cell structures alongside severely raised levels of dopamine!"

"English, please," Nick interrupted, earning a grateful look from Judy for his comment.

"Of course," Coyotah said with a slight chuckle. "You're friend was hit with an entirely new type of night howler derivative that was made expressly for canines, though I'd wager the fur on my tail that the more we dig, the more we'll find it targets vulpines specifically, although with the conserved nature of the surface receptors in Canidae, it would still work on a wide range of Canines. It's been designed to directly bind to the surface receptors in the dermal layer, triggering clatherin-mediated endocytosis, allowing it to enter into the cells, and rapidly enter the bloodstream."

He shook his head before continuing. "The design was quite frankly brilliant, and would need significant resources to develop, of which I'm wondering where the funding has come from for it as I'd love to have my paw in that biscuit jar." The coyote laughed at his own joke before continuing. "In the long run, we may be able to modify the technique to help mammals, but for now we need to figure out how to deal with this modification."

Nick's expression was still filled with confusion. "Uhhh, that's your idea of English?"

Judy nudged the fox with her elbow and he looked down to see her nod her head. "I think I got the gist of it," she said before turning her attention back to the Doctor. "Is there a cure...an anti-toxin available for it?" Judy asked, concern lacing her words.

"No…" the scientists stated, though halted when he saw the bunny's ears wilt. "Er, I mean, not _yet_. We're working on this around the clock to develop one, but that isn't the biggest of Mr Gideon's worries."

"Wait, what do you mean?" Judy asked, feeling as if the temperature of the room had suddenly plummeted.

"Oh, um…" The coyote suddenly looked quite nervous, scratching at the back of his head. "Well, he has...oh dear, there's no good way to put this is there…"

The canine began muttering to himself, though most of it sounded like incomprehensible medical jargon to the other two mammals present. After nearly a minute of having to listen to the other mammal mumbling, Judy finally snapped, her worry reaching its breaking point.

"What is wrong with Gideon!" she shouted, startling the coyote into silence. Looking nervously at the now anxious rabbit, and the fox trying to calm her by placing his paws on her shoulders and rubbing them tenderly, Wiley couldn't help but gulp.

"He has a Atypical Meningioma."

The room went silent, as even the scientists listening in on the conversation went quiet at the announcement.

"He has...what?" Judy asked, voice quivering as Nick's paws tightened on her shoulders.

"Gideon has a tumor, Officer Hopps. It was discovered in the meninges near his spinal column during his latest tests."

Judy felt her legs shaking and walked to the nearest chair, slumping into it as her paws went limp in her lap. Her ears hung behind her, eyes glassy as she processed the news.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it Ms Hopps, because it hasn't metastasized yet. However, the doctors aren't sure of how to proceed while he is in his savage state. Surgery will be required eventually, but they are hoping that the antidote to his specific night howler toxin will be produced and used on him before attempting the surgery."

Seeing no stir from his partner, Nick walked over to her, kneeling down next to her on the floor, though still eye level with her. As soon as he placed his paw around her back, she leaned into him, quickly wrapping her arms around his chest as his warmth and presence helped alleviate some of the pain from the news.

"I'll ah, let you two have some time." The coyote quickly left, leaving the two alone as the quiet ticking of keyboards and hum of machines once again filled the noiseless void from before. Several minutes passed before Judy moved, with Nick rubbing her back slowly until she pulled away from him, wiping her eyes though no tears had come.

"You alright now?" the fox asked, stopping his ministrations as he looked into her eyes, his own filled with care and hope.

"Yeah, I'm alright."

"Nick, Judy?"

Both the fox and rabbit looked up, spotting a rather worried looking hippo standing several feet away from them. Judy brightened instantly at seeing their friend.

"Phil!" she stated warmly, sliding off the chair then walking towards the larger mammal. "How have you been? Everyone treating you better than before?"

The hippo nodded. "Yes, though I have you two to thank for that." He smiled softly, though his smile quickly widened.

"Oh, and I have something for you two!" Phil stated, turning and trundling back into a section of cubicles with both Nick and Judy following behind him. "I found this recently in the other laboratory here at Furzer that focuses in on synthetics research while testing more of my vegetable enhancer."

As he was facing forward, he didn't see Judy's smile drop into a frown, nor Nick's change to a smirk as he nudged his partner and grinned. "So what is it big guy? Discover something that could make carrots bigger?"

"Are you calling me short?" Judy quipped back, eager to pull a fast one on Nick.

"Of course not," the fox calmly replied, "as you are perfect as is. Now Phil…"

Judy couldn't help the sudden blush rushing into her ears as she tried and failed to frown at her best friend turned boyfriend. Nick continued without missing a beat, though Judy _did_ manage to catch the wink he sent her way."

"...what is it that you have for us?"

The hippo was scrounging around in what looked like a mini-fridge to the larger mammal, but what was almost big enough to be a home for most smaller mammals, before apparently spotting what he was searching for.

"Ah, here it is!" he nearly shouted in glee as he stood, knocking his head against the lip of the fridge as he leaned out of it. He turned, rubbing his head, though with a wide grin. "Dr Shepherd's last creation."

In Phil's hoof he held a vial of some type of reddish liquid.

"That's great!" Nick replied with false exuberance, though it went completely over the head of the hippo, who nodding in agreement. "Wonderful even, Phil. What is it?"

The hippo continued nodding for several moments before he realized he had been asked a question by the fox. "Oh, you remember how Dr Shepherd had created that serum that Dr Sprintz consumed?" Both Nick and Judy nodded as the hippo continued. "Well, I found this little beauty over in the other lab just today. It's the _antidote_ for it."

"Well, that's convenient," Nick stated, raising an eyebrow at the hippo who chuckled nervously.

"Wait, Dr Shepherd created an _antidote?"_ Judy asked. "Why wouldn't you have known about this from before if you were his assistant? And why would it be hidden in another laboratory when you work in this one?"

Phil shrugged. "I thought it was strange as well, but, that is just how Dr Shepherd was. Once I found his lunch shoved in his desk drawer and his notes and iCarrot in the fridge." The hippo lowered his head, growing somber at the memory of his friend, a slight sniffle heard from him. "I'm sorry I didn't know about this earlier. He...Shepherd apparently was working on several more as well. Come look."

Nick and Judy walked closer to the fridge and past the excited ungulate, their eyes widening as they saw several shelves lined with similar flasks.

"Isn't it great!" Phil stammered. "Apparently he was making one for most classes and species of mammals, or at least the most populous ones in Zootopia. It's a goldmine of information that we could use to…"

Judy quickly turned to Phil, silencing the mammal with an urgent tone to her pose. "Did he create one for foxes?"

"Uh," the hippo scratched his head. "I'm not sure. Like I said, I only just stumbled across these today and was going to take them to Dr Coyotah to-"

"Dr Coyotah!" Judy hollered, causing Nick to wince from the close proximity. "Get your tail down here now!"

"Coming, coming!" they heard the coyote shout from across the lab, followed by the rushed steps of claws on tile before the canine zoomed into view, followed shortly by two other mammals that caused a nervous chuckle to come from Nick.

Both Fangmeyer and Delgato stood behind the other predator, arms crossed across their chests as they glared down at the two officers.

"What is it Officer Hopps?" Dr Coyotah asked. "I was just talking with these two when you called."

"Yes, _Hopps_ ," Delgato stated with a bit of edge in his tone. "What is it that you simply _had_ to go against Bogo's orders... _again._ "

"We simply couldn't wait to see your faces again," Nick chimed, voice filled with a certain snark that he had learned to master. Judy rolled her eyes, but quietly laughed to herself at how Nick's false calm and debonair attitude could usually charm anyone. Or at least make them feel like he was giving them a compliment, while at the same time wishing them a horrible day. It had helped on quite a few of their cases, though at other times like right now…

"Wilde, close that muzzle before I _do_ tell the Chief you both are here."

Now that would be a hinderance, and one they couldn't risk.

"We apologize," Judy began a little too professionally, poking Nick in his side with her elbow, gaining a soft 'ow' from the fox, "however, we actually aren't here about the case."

Her comment earned a raised eyebrow from both the tiger and the wolf, the latter even chuckling. "I have a hard time believing that 'Judy-on-duty' isn't here investiga-"

The wolf stopped when he looked down when he heard a _tap-tap-tapping_ sound and saw the glare that Judy was currently giving him.

"Fangmeyer, I thought we talked about that name?" she stated, her foot still tapping away furiously.

"Hehe, sorry Judy." Fangmeyer chuckled nervously as Delgato shook his head.

"Fine Hopps, what were you and Wilde doing here that _wasn't_ involved with the case?"

"Well," Judy began cheerfully as she clasped her paws together, "we were hoping to find out if there had been an antidote made yet for my friend Gideon." Judy's ears fell as her mind drew to the memory of her friend snarling and stalking her at the festival, barely recognizable as the fox she had known while growing up and who her parents had worked with for the past few years. _That's not the Gideon you know, Judy..._ she repeated to herself.

"You could have just called," the tiger growled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"We did," Nick replied, jutting his thumb towards the coyote, noticing Judy's sullen gaze and covering for her, "but this guy doesn't seem to like to pick up his phone when it rings."

"Well," the doctor began, frowning, "I was working on some very important experiments regarding the…"

"Yes, quite interesting," Nick interjected. "However, due to the lack of communication we came here to find out if they had made any antidote that we could deliver to Gideon."

Again the tiger growled out a response. "And did you?"

Nick's eyes twinkled. "Oh, we got more than that." With a flourish of his paw, he moved to the side, allowing the two detectives to look at the mini-fridge in Phil's office. Both frowned at the fox, whose smile never disappeared from his muzzle as the detectives groaned.

Delgato glanced down at his partner. "And we sponsored these two for becoming detectives?" the tiger asked before looking back at the fox. "You found a fridge, congrats. Now let's get you two back to the station before Bogo has a hernia at you two being here."

Before the tiger could take a step back, Judy crossed over in front of the fridge, opening it swiftly, reaching in, and grabbing a vial from inside.

"We didn't find _just_ a fridge, _Detective_." She shot the last word out in a frustrated tone. "Phil here found these antidotes to _not only_ the toxin that Gideon was shot with, but to the toxin that Dr Sprintz was affected by as well." Judy folded her arms across her chest as Nick gave her a smile and a wink as the bunny continued. "It would appear that Dr Shepherd had been crafting the antidotes alongside the toxins, but _someone_ hid them so they wouldn't be found."

"Wait," Fangmeyer stated, his ears perking up. "You said they were hidden? By who?" The gaze of all four cops fell on the largest mammal among them - Phil.

"I...I don't know," the hippo stuttered. "I was over there conducting some experiments when I went to see if there were any snacks in their fridge and found them. Dr Shepherd must have left them there for some reason. I don't know..."

"But Phil," Dr Coyotah spoke up, staring at the ungulate, "we aren't allowed to use that lab so we don't accidentally cross our experiments with theirs. And those…" the coyote pointed towards the samples as he leaned in and squinted at them, "are dated as of yesterday so there is no way that Dr Shepherd could have made those."

Again all eyes were drawn to the hippo, who began nervously flicking his ears.

"I...I…"

"Phil…" Judy began, taking a step towards the much bigger mammal. "What is going on here?"

The hippo looked like he was about to break, when the chiming of a cell phone in Delgato's pocket offered the hippo a respite, though only one from the tiger as the others kept their gazes trained on the larger mammal.

"Hello," the tiger began, pausing to listen for several moments. "Sure, Wolford, I can do that. Let me put you on the speaker."

The feline nodded for Judy, Nick and Fangmeyer to follow him to a more discreet location, though Nick squinted at the hippo, causing the other mammal to flinch when Nick finally spoke

"I hope you don't have anything to do with this, Phil, as you have been nothing but kind to Judy. I'd hate to watch her ears droop even the tiniest _fraction_ of an inch if she has to arrest someone she considers a friend."

"Alright," the hippo stammered. The fox officer nodded before following after the other three police mammals, leaving a curious coyote and a very nervous hippo behind.

"The Cloven Hoof?" Nick heard his partner ask when he jogged up to join his fellow officers. "What's that place?"

"Surprised you haven't heard about it yet, Carrots," Nick observed as Judy turned to see him join them. "Though that is probably because Bogo knew you would have gone in there to clean it up just by yourself if you had."

"Seediest bar in the Meadowlands," replied Delgato, again causing the rabbit to whip around to face him. "Even most of the lowlifes in the city that have some sense of morals avoid that place. No matter how many times we've shut it down, it always comes back...and somehow worse than before. It only serves prey mammal that have hooves, and their bouncer, Blane, usually beats anyone who doesn't have any before tossing them out."

The rabbit lowered her head in thought as she went over all the information in her mind. "I'm guessing this is the bar that Wolford is assigned to when he goes undercover then?" she finally asked, turning to Fangmeyer.

"That would be the one," the wolf replied. He's been going there off and on for the past two years to keep an eye on the place for the ZPD."

"Well…" Judy began, a sparkle in her eyes, "Maybe now that they have been harboring a wanted fugitive, I'm sure we can close it down, and _permanently_ for that. Is Wolford there now?"

Delgato nodded, but was interrupted by Nick before he could speak up.

"Again, I'd say we leave this to TUSK, Carrots." The comment earned him a slight frown form her partner, though the fox continued. "I've...been to that bar before, and the mammals there make Bellwether seem nicer than Santa Claws _and_ we're technically not even here, so I think it would be best if we let someone else take the honor of bagging the bad guys this time."

Judy's question of _why_ Nick had visited that bar was on the tip of her tongue when a ringing interrupted the foursome's conversation. Delgato quickly brought his phone from his pocket and answered the device.

"Delgato speaking," the tiger rumbled before putting it on speaker.

"Hey there Frosted Flakes, how are ya doing?" the voice of the wolf came somewhat muffled through the speaker. _Must be speaking through his disguise..._ Nick thought with amusement. He'd seen the wolf wear it several times now, and each time found it quite amusing.

"Frosted Flakes?" Nick asked with a chuckle. "Now _that's_ a new one. How'd you get that, Stripes?"

Delgato offered a pointed glare at the fox before the wolf again chimed in from the phone.

"Was that Wilde?" the wolf asked. "What's he doing there? I thought the Chief told them-"

"They're with us completely by accident while trying to find solutions to another of their cases. Now what do you have to tell us Wolford."

The wolf on the other side of the line cleared his throat. "Alright then. I found our guy. All our info on him seems to match. Already called up Bogo and told him that-"

Wolford's voice cut out as another, deeper voice chimed in. Judy strained to hear it, but could barely make out the conversation as she could only guess Wolford must have his costumed paw over the phone.

_"And what are you doing out here, Teddy?"_

_"Just calling my mother. What's it to you, Blane?"_ she could hear Wolford holler through the phone.

A strangled yelp was plainly heard over the phone, as all four officers were suddenly on full alert.

" _Teddy,_ buddy, can you hear us?" Fangmeyer shouted into the phone. Pitiful whining could be heard, then the crackling of the phone as it exchanged paws.

"I believe that _Teddy_ is indisposed at the moment and that your friend here will have trouble hearing you soon," the deep voice rumbled, sending a shiver down each of the officer's spines. "As it is hard to hear when you are missing your ears."

"Listen you punk," Delgato growled into the phone, only to be cut off by a raspy chuckling sound.

"No, my friend, I think _you_ should listen." Silence pervaded over the phone, before a loud snap could be heard, followed by a pain-filled howl. Wolford's whimpers sounded over the phone before another snap could be heard, followed by even more whining, though more strained than before.

"Wolford?" Fangmeyer murmured, eyes filled with worry as he looked at the phone in his paw.

He glanced at his phone one last time as he heard a voice laughing from the device.

"So that is what the deceiver's true name is," the voice mocked. "We have a penalty for lying here. For every minute I'll break a finger, for ever ten I break a bone. You have thirty minutes until I crush his skull. For his sake, I hope you are not far."

"We need to get down there, now!" Judy shouted, running towards the door as Nick followed quickly after her, the rabbit on her radio in a heartbeat.

"Clawhauser, we have an officer down at the Cloven Hoof! Assemble a TUSK team to go as soon as you can!"

The panicked voice of Clawhauser came through over the radio. "What?" Who's down, what's going on? And why are you there Judy? Is Nick hurt?"

"Wolford's been assaulted at the bar and needs backup. Delgato, Fangmeyer, Wilde and I are ETA…" she paused looking at her partner as she actually didn't know how far away they were from the bar.

"Fifteen minutes," he yelled as they burst into the lobby they came through, scaring the receptionist so badly that they flung their coffee into the air, the cup breaking as it splattered across their desk.

"ETA fifteen minutes Clawhauser. Get that TUSK unit there _now_ and we'll try and see how to help Wolford until they arrive."

Delgato and Fangmeyer darted quickly after the fox and rabbit, the four racing to their cruisers, their vehicles engines roaring to life as they gunned the engines. Nick flicked on their lights and sirens as Judy sped towards the exit, placing the location of the bar into their cruiser's GPS system.

"Twenty minutes to your destination," the voice chimed from the GPS as Judy passed through the gates of the facility, the guard stepping out of his shack to stare at the two cruiser's flying past.

Wolford was one of the first officers to accept Nick at the Precinct when within the fox's first week the larger predator has made sure he was invited to the Precinct's summer social. Something he _should_ have gotten an invite to, and something which had aggravated, and saddened Judy, beyond belief when she had found out Nick only knew due to the wolf. He'd spent a while that night consoling her, reminder her she _was_ a good friend, before Wolford had come over and helped out the rabbit as well. Wolford was one of the few he felt was a true friend he could count on and the phone call was making him quite worried, even if he wasn't showing it for the most part.

"Think you can cut that time in half, Carrots?" Nick asked, a hint of worry edging his words.

The engine roared in response as Judy cast him a quick glance, the seriousness of the situation showing in her eyes as her gaze flickered to the GPS's estimated arrival time.

"We'll make it in seven."

 


	37. Brawl for it All

 

The cruiser couldn't go fast enough for the bunny as she raced it across the Meadowlands towards their destination.

"Turn left here!" Nick shouted, causing the rabbit to jerk the wheel suddenly, tires screeching and smoke bellowing from the massive vehicle as it raced in the new direction, sirens wailing and lights flashing.

 _"Please make a U-turn and proceed onto highlighted route"..._ the mechanical voice of the GPS sounded.

"Take a right in three blocks on Zephyr Way, then keep straight for fifteen blocks and we'll be there, Carrots."

 _Zephyr...Zephyr..._ Judy thought, scanning the road signs hanging from stop lights _...Zeph-ah, there it is!_

Yanking the wheel again, she nearly lost control of the cruiser as the rear of the car began sliding past their intended turn, though with an expertise that came from hundreds of hours at the helm of the cruiser that Nick had nicknamed "The Bunmobile", she managed to curve it back and revved the engine as they sped down the road.

 _Bogo would probably kill us for this..._ Nick thought as he watched the speedometer going past 70. Normally Nick would just skirt the rules around Bogo so he wouldn't get either Judy or himself in trouble. Today, though, they were flagrantly violating  _several_ laws in their mad dash to The Cloven Hoof to rescue Wolford.

He glanced at his phone and checked the timer he had begun as soon as they had left Furzer.

 _Gotta get there faster..._ he thought with a grimace, realizing as the time hit five minutes that Wolford had just been hurt again.

 _Jenna would be devastated if we can't help him in time..._ Judy thought, mirroring the worry in Nick's eyes.  _They've only been dating a few months and she just barely moved to Zootopia to be closer to him._

 _"Recalculating..._ "

"Why did you want me to take this route?" Judy asked, both partners keeping their eyes glued to the road as it curved to the left and sloped downward as the cruiser raced down a hill.

"We never changed the GPS from shortest distance to fastest route," Nick replied. "The route it was going to take us on would have taken us directly through downtown Meadowlands during their annual Sheep Day Parade. We'd never had made it through."

"Clever fox," Judy grinned, as she spotted their destination in the distance and straight ahead of them. The road curved slightly to the right, leaving the dingy and dirty building known as The Cloven Hoof directly in front of them.

"Should we make it a drive in?" Nick asked, trying to lighten the otherwise repressive worry hanging above their heads. It would do neither of them any good to enter this situation with concern muddling their thoughts.

"Tempting, but no..." Judy replied as she slammed on the breaks as they neared the seedy establishment. Several rams and elk standing around outside smoking jumped at the sudden appearance of the cruiser, as if they hadn't been aware of it tearing down the street towards them with both lights and sirens blaring. The mammals ran inside as Judy and Nick opened their doors, standing on the ledges installed on the doors so that they'd be able to stay hidden behind them in any sort of standoff.

The pair trained their tranquilizers upon the outside of the building, awaiting the arrival of Delgato and Fangmeyer before proceeding into the bar. Judy checked the cruiser's clock, noticing they had arrived within eight minutes, leaving two left before Wolford would have to make a more elongated trip to the emergency room.

Nick's ears flickered as he searched the bar for any sign of movement on the inside, keeping a growl in his throat as the curtains covering the windows up to seven feet up prevented him from seeing anyone hidden within.

The sounds of the detective's cruiser could be heard racing towards them, but both their gazes were trained upon the door as it opened, a massive bison stepping just outside the door and into the sun of the afternoon. Both instantly trained their weapons upon the mammal as they noticed him holding the limp form of Wolford, still partially concealed within his ram disguise.

"Put Wolford down gently, and put your hooves in the air!" Judy shouted. "Do it now!"

"Stay calm my friends," the bison stated, raising his hooves along with the unconscious Wolford.

"I don't think I'd want to be your friend,  _friend_ ," Nick replied, looking for a clear shot. As the bison held the wolf in his hooves, Nick didn't want to risk accidentally hitting his colleague. "Now as my partner said, put the wolf down, hooves up, and on the ground before I decide to see how high my taser can go."

"You mean put him down?" the bison replied, Nick finally noticing the reason as to why the mammal's voice sounded so odd.

He was speaking through a  _muzzle._

"Yes, put him down, down!" Judy again shouted as she heard the sound of squealing brakes signaling the arrival of Delgato and Fangmeyer.

"Of course, you can have him," the bison replied, "after I have finished with him."

A loud snapping sound rang in their ears as the bison bent one of the wolf's fingers at an unnatural angle, gaining an instant whimper of pain from the semi-conscious mammal.

"Down on the ground now,  _I said down on the ground!"_ Judy shouted, only to hear the laughter from the large furry mammal enter her ears. The bison turned and reached for the door as she and Nick fired at the same time, both darts hitting the mammals back and mane.

The bison shook himself, dislodging both darts and, before they could reload, he disappeared back into the building with Wolford still in his grasp. They heard one final shout from the mammal before he disappeared completely.

"Fifteen minutes officers. His time is ticking!"

"We  _have_ to go in there!" Judy shouted, Nick nodding along with her as they jumped from the ledges they had been standing on and onto the ground, Judy signaling to Nick for them to cautiously approach the building from the right side as the sound of car doors opening signaled the arrival of their backup.

"What's the situation, Hopps, Wilde?" Delgato shouted, as he and Fangmeyer quickly joined their fellow officers near the bar on the opposite side of the door.

"Unknown amount of assailants and civilians inside the bar," Judy responded. "We hit the bison with tranqs but he just shook them off. He still has Wolford and broke another of his fingers and said he'll kill him in 15 minutes."

Delgato grabbed his radio. "Dispatch, this is Detective Delgato. We have the suspect cornered inside a building. Suspect is still holding Wolford hostage. What's the ETA on our backup?"

Clawhauser's voice sounded over the device, filled with concern. "Roger that Delgato, TUSK Team's ETA twenty minutes out. A crash is blocking the main road into the Meadowlands so they have to take a detour."

"Too long," Fangmeyer growled, his teeth clamped together in a snarl. "I want the son of-"

"I do too," Delgato said, cutting him off. "That bison will get what is coming to him. As  _well_  as the suspect we are here for.

"Guys," Nick chimed in as he and Judy approached the door, his weapon trained on the window to see if anyone was looking out through the curtains. "This place has a back entrance, as well as a rooftop exit. If we don't go in now, we could lose both him  _and_  Harold."

A piercing howl from within shattered their conversation, causing Judy's blood to run cold.

"Enough talk, I'm going in!" Judy shouted, reaching the door.

"Hopps, wait!" Delgato shouted too late, as Judy kicked open the door, the wood splintering at the force of the kick. In a moment she was in, quickly followed by Nick while Delgato and Fangmeyer growled their annoyance and rushed in after them, the tiger calling it in.

"Dispatch, suspect may be fleeing the building, breaching the building now."

"ZPD! Everybody, down on the ground!" Nick and Judy bellowed at the same time as they surveyed the room looking for the bison or their zebra. They were greeted to the stares of about twenty five mammals, all glaring at them while holding a loose assortment of improvised weapons from around the bar. Judy noticed several elk putting on modified brass knuckles over their hooves, while others held baseball bats or pool cues.

"I was wondering when you'd join us." The voice of the bison sounded as he walked forward, spreading the crowd at his approach. Alongside him walked a zebra, the one that had plagued Nick's childhood and now had been trying to kill him and Judy.

"Harold," Nick began, aiming his dart-gun at the zebra. "You and Mr Jesse McFurry over there need to come with us."

The zebra spat in annoyance. "Why don't you make me, pelt?!"

"You have one last chance to come peacefully," Judy said, her warning earning chuckles from the assembled mob.

A moose in the group guffawed loudly. "Well isn't that cute coming from you."

Nick groaned.

"Oh, now you've done it. Bad idea number one - calling Carrots here cute."

"Well then let's add another bad idea, pelt!" the moose bellowed.

"That's two bad ideas," Nick commented, bringing his dart gun up as he watched the moose approaching from the side, the tall mammal winding up his arm, holding a whiskey bottle. "That's three…"

_Pfft_

Nick shook his head as the moose stared down his muzzle at the tranquilizer dart sticking into his cheek, several seconds passing before his eyes rolled back and he tipped over backwards. "Three strikes and he's out."

Nick turned to see Judy reloading her dart gun. "I had him, Carrots," he grumbled.

" _Nobody_  calls me cute," he heard her rumble, as they both refocused their guns on the bison holding the wolf officer in front of himself like a shield.

Both sides stood there, glaring at each other. Nick knew that if they could keep the group occupied, then backup could arrive and they could prevent Wolford from sustaining any more injuries, but the fox's hopes were dashed when the Zebra snapped his hooves together, laughing darkly.

"Remember boys, whoever can skin the rabbit gets 25 grand, the fox...50. And if you can get me both...100."

"This is going to suck," Delgato growled, as the four officers began firing as the mob rushed forward.

* * *

"So, how are the new trainees coming along hon?"

"Fairly well for being as green as they are," the coyote responded into her phone as she drove down the street. The Zootopia Defense Force emblem on the side of her car gained several friendly waves from passing mammals. She sighed thinking of how the day had gone at work. Several trainees fresh out of ZDF boot camp were sent to her for advanced training and hadn't quite met her expectations. "Though I wish the instructors would train them better in paw to paw combat during basic as even a blind badger has better footwork than most of them."

A chuckle was heard over the phone as she turned the corner, her eyebrows rising in puzzlement when she saw two patrol cars outside of a familiar seedy location, their lights flashing on full alarm.

"Gotta go Dave, something's up at The Cloven Hoof."

"What's going on, Carol?" Dave asked, before the sound of breaking glass shattered the peaceful calm of the afternoon.

"Gotta go!" she shouted, hanging up her phone before stopping her car and running over to the mammal who she had seen flung through the window, shards of glass scattering on the asphalt.

"Delgato?" the coyote muttered, helping the tiger quickly to his feet before staring through the broken window while carefully avoiding the sharp splinters on the ground.

"Carol?" he replied, blinking at the small canine before rising to his feet. "Boy am I glad to see you. We could use another trained paw right about now. TUSK is across town and won't be here for a while."

Several more crashes, as well as yelps, bleatings and other sounds, came from inside.

"What's going on and who is  _us?"_ She asked, incredulous.

Both heard a rather large, pain-filled bellow come from inside, their gaze turning to see an antelope flying across the room, as a grey bunny's foot firmly connected with his muzzle. He twisted limply through the air before crashing into an already overturned table, where he slumped to the floor unmoving.

Carol rolled her eyes. "I should have known," she growled, before the two predators rushed inside, finding pure chaos to greet them. Roughly ten hooved mammals were already splayed about in rather awkward positions on the ground with one or more darts sticking out of them, while about a dozen more were focused in three different areas. Carol quickly noticed the red blur that was Officer Wilde dodging and weaving around the swings of baseball bats with practiced ease, occasionally striking out with a paw to redirect a blow that, more often than not, hit another assailant rather than himself.

"I was wondering where you went!" Fangmeyer growled as he drove his elbow into the gut of an elk holding him from behind, ducking as the caribou in front of him swung at him with a wild haymaker that whistled over his head, instead striking the elk's chest, who crumpled backwards before Fangmeyer leapt between the caribou's legs, sending both of his feet directly between the larger mammals legs. The caribou groaned as he clutched at his lower region, as a grey and blue blur smashed into the back of his head, knocking him out cold.

"Need some help, Fang?" Judy shouted, leaping to the side as a beer bottle nearly crushed her skull.

Carol looked over at Delgato who saw a pair of water buffalo trying to corner Officer Wilde. Holding in her frustration, she dashed forward as Delgato went to help his own partner, the coyote reaching the two hulking mammals just as they had the fox cornered and were snickering.

"Hey, buddy...I have a question for you…" Nick stated, seeing an approaching figure, jumping up behind one of the large mammals, with relief as one of the buffalo raised an elephant-sized vodka bottle above his head.

Nick grinned, "...have you looked below you recently?" The pair stopped, staring at the fox, blinking in surprise after seeing nothing near their feet, when Nick saw a coyote in a khaki uniform appear above the buffalo. The ZDF officer quickly struck the water buffalo on the wrist with a paw, then snatched the bottle from the mammals now numb hoof. She twisted in mid air, and slammed the bottle down on the the buffalo's skull before jumping forward, using his face as a launch pad and slamming her elbow into the base of the skull of the other buffalo. Both went down, slumping against each other as Carol landed next to the fox.

"Officer Wilde."

"Carol," he replied, both nodding before sprinting off to find new opponents, with Carol jamming her elbow in the back of the knee of a deer swinging a beer bottle at Fangmeyer. As the mammal fell backwards, she flipped the overbalanced mammal over her back in a modified shoulder throw, slamming his head into the hardwood floor and snapping off both his antlers in the process.

Nick, meanwhile, avoided being tackled by two rams coming after him from around a pool table by sliding under it and against the wall on the other side. The two circled the table, snickering at believing they had cornered the fox between them.

Nick simply grinned. "So, which one of you ladies wants to play?"

The nostrils of both rams flared before the two mammals scrapped their hooves against the ground and charged the fox. Pulling off the same move as before, Nick slid under the table, then turned, positioning his body as he heard the loud crack from the two rams butting heads a few feet in front of him. Stumbling back groggily, they heard a whistle from under the table, turning in time to see Nick spring up from under the table, his paws clapping over the ears on one ram, while his left foot snapped up into the other mammals chin. The second ram fell to the floor unconscious, while the former stumbled drunkenly, his ruptured eardrums wreaking havoc on his equilibrium. Nick struck out quickly with a quick jab and an uppercut combo, sending the ram to the floor beside his compatriot. .

"Guess that was a baaad move on their part," Nick laughed before jumping over the two animals, using their heads as springboards to get on top of the pool table.

In the room was pure chaos. Carol had her legs around the neck of an elk, applying pressure to his carotid arteries, and slamming her elbow into his muzzle to keep him distracted while Fangmeyer and Delgato had teamed up, each grabbing two pool cues to beat back the mob of mammals trying to get close to them.

_Judy...Judy...where are you Judy...ah there!_

Across the room by about 30 feet, he spotted the rabbit and grimaced. With the bounty on her head as well as his own, a group of about five mammals had surrounded her while she stood on a large table, so the fox could barely able to see her through the crowd. His partner looked soaked, standing in a pool of something, liquid flying off her ears as a camel attempted to grab them, only to find the rabbit stomp on one side of his wrist while kicking the other side, an audible snap filling the air as he howled in pain.

 _What to do...what to do..._ Nick thought as he glanced around for anything quickly, especially when two of the mammals at the back of the group facing off against the tiger and wolf officer saw the fox and began heading his way.

* * *

 _I hate beer…_  Judy thought, reprimanding herself for the umpteenth time after a llama had showered her with a bucket of Boar's Light.  _This will take forever to get out of my fur..._ she grimaced while stomping on the wrist of a camel, her other foot striking out in a low roundhouse kick against the trapped limb, breaking his wrist before jumping away from a kudu attempting to grab her. She stubled a bit on the wet table, though quickly regained her bearings as another mammal learned that it was not wise to approach her from behind as they suddenly found their face meeting her feet in a very unpleasant set of double kicks to their chin.

A slight bit of panic went down her spine as she watched most of the mammals step away from the table, one flicking out a lighter while sneering at her.

"Anyone else up for burnt rabbit?" he snarled, flicking the lighter on. Judy grimaced, realizing what he was going to do and prepared to jump when a voice shouted above the din, her ears turning towards the sound of it.

"Hey Carrots! Fastball special!"

Judy turned, seeing a red ball flying towards her. Instincts kicking in, as well as certain memories of a scrap with a certain fox, caused an instant reaction from her. Pivoting onto her paws, Judy spun, kicking the pool ball at a near perfect angle to crack into the snout of the kudu, the ungulate dropping as fast as his lighter. She barely had any time to react as another pool ball flew towards her, again thrown by her fox. With a grin, the pattern repeated, the fox throwing the balls as Judy redirected them with kicks into the faces of nearby mammals.

She had to wince slightly at the beating that her feet were taking from the hard plastic, but the tactic worked, and the moves caused those gathered around her to duck for cover, allowing her to jump towards Nick. As she passed over the head of a crouching mule deer, she kicked a final black ball into his open mouth.

"Eight ball, corner pocket!" Nick yelled as Judy joined him on the pool table, both studying the remaining mammals in the room. The room had cleared out substantially, with several more mammals laying prone on the ground, while others who had been floored were getting groggily to their feet. Judy looked up at the fox, only to find his lips meeting hers in a quick kiss.

"Have you been drinking Judy?" he asked with a smirk as he again went to looking around the room.

"Not the time, Nick," the doe responded, though she did feel a bit of heat flowing into her ears.

"Think we can keep this up until TUSK comes in another…" Nick glanced at his phone, "fifteen minutes, Fluff?"

"Probably not," she grumbled. Both of them had graduated valedictorian due to the extra training they had put themselves through, Judy to show a bunny could become a police officer while Nick wanted to prove himself a worthy partner of his best friend on the force. Even with all that extra training, Judy was beginning to breathe hard, while Nick did his best not to begin panting. "Doesn't mean we have to let them know that though."

Nick nodded as he saw one of the elk that Carol had apparently used as a practice dummy for an armbar - judging from the way he was holding his limp appendage - moving towards the door, fear in his eyes as he limped out and into the street, glancing over his shoulder continually.

"Or…" Nick said with a grin, "we can just see how many we can  _convince_  to get out of here on their own, so we can refocus on the two we're here for." He jutted his thumb towards the bison and zebra who were still standing at the back of the room, arms folded across their chests as they glared at the fox and rabbit on the opposite side of the room from them.

"Sounds like a plan," Judy stated as the loud bellowing to their left signaled an attacking moose. The angry mammal swung a pool cue at them, both smaller mammals jumping easily over it as he lost his balance from the overswing. Taking advantage of the poor swing, Nick was able to reach out and grab the overbalanced mammals ear and yanked hard, pulling his head into the pool table, stunning the moose instantly as Judy leapt forward and slammed both her feet into the side of the moose's jaw, sending him spiralling to the floor in a heap. Nick held out his fist and Judy quickly bumped it with her own as they watched the two water buffalo from earlier crawl to their feet and stare at them with loathing in their eyes.

"So, what plan is it this time?" Judy asked, picking up a pool cue twice her size and offering it to Nick while still holding it herself. "Double-threat tango? Loosey-Goosey? The Flying Fox? The Caerbannog Bunny?" she asked with a smile as the two officers slammed the wooden pole against the pool table, snapping it in half, then repeated the measure with the second cue as before on the table, keeping the thicker portions as makeshift batons. "I mean, as much as I'd love taking these guys out..." the rabbit trailed off as the first of the two buffalo reached them, throwing both of his meaty arms into the air before crashing them onto the table where he had  _thought_  the rabbit and fox were.

Instead, he saw both had landed adroitly on his outstretched arms, providing the perfect runway for both smaller mammals to bolt up. The buffalo raised his arms to shake them off, only to watch as they pushed off his arms, leaping at each other, crossing directly in front of the larger mammals face before they swung their modified cudgles into either side of the buffalo's temples. The sudden shock collapsed the mammal a second time as they landed on opposite ends of the table.

Judy let out a heavy breath. "...I'd much rather get back at Harold for trying to hurt you."

"And I at that bison for hurting Wolford," Nick added as the second buffalo halted his advance towards the vulpine and bunny, actually taking a step back before he made a beeline for the door.

Or  _would_  have made for the door if not for the sliding kick into the side of his knee that came from Carol, the coyote snapping the buffalo's kneecap instantly. The ungulate fell to the floor, meeting a well placed knee to his cheek on the way down from the female canine, knocking out the mammal before he even hit the floor.

Carol gave Nick and Judy a wry smile and a thumbs up before dashing away, a nearby elk leaping out of the way, rather than facing the much smaller mammal.

"Well, I had a plan involving the piano, a certain good looking bunny's powerful legs, a good deal of luck and Harold's face over there," Nick chimed in after watching several more of the hooved mammals in the bar start sprinting, or at least limping for the door, toppling over chairs or running into each other in their haste to exit the building. "And my idea still seems to be holding as our suspect appears to not be fleeing at all."

"Good," Judy stated, watching as the last two mammals, two deer who were looking rather less smug than before, surrounding Fangmeyer and Delgato found their faces hit with twin pitchers of beer. The stunned mammals then found themselves on the floor, the tiger and wolf easily subduing the duo and slapping pawcuffs on them, before Delgato flipped over a nearby pool table and placed it on top of them.

"Stay!" the tiger growled, pointing a rather large and sharp claw at both of them. Wisely, both mammals nodded furiously as Delgato and Fangmeyer were joined quickly by Carol.

"Over so soon?" Fangmeyer grinned, wiping his lips of a trickle of blood dripping down from a cut on his nose.

"Main course is up next," Delgato growled, cracking his knuckles as he reached for his taser and approached the last remaining standing hooved mammals in the bar.

"So the kitty has come to play," the bison stated smugly, still holding onto the limp form of Wolford in one hoof

"Go easy on him Blane," Harold chuckled. "Try not to tear his pelt, it will make a good rug in my living room."

Delgato growled and raised his taser, but was halted by a small paw on his leg. Looking down, he saw that he had been joined by both Nick and Judy, both staring ahead at the bison and zebra.

"As much as I'd enjoy beating the snot out of him for hurting Wolford," Judy stated darkly, glaring at the bison. "I don't think Logan," she pointed at Wolford, "would appreciate it if we ended up tasing him."

"Fine," the tiger growled. "Anyone have some tranq darts left?"

The shaking heads brought out a chuckle from the bison. "It would appear as if you've lost your advantage then," he stated. "I have no need of this mutt anymore."

With the same casualness of his voice, the bison threw Wolford into Fangmeyer, knocking both animals to the ground before stomping forward. Delgato let out a roar and met the bison halfway. With anger clouding his vision, the tiger let loose a haymaker that would have toppled most mammals, yet all it did to Blane was knock his head to the side momentarily before he straightened it.

"That was a good punch for a kitten," the bison commented, cracking his jaw back into place. "Let me show you what a real one looks like."

Carol, Judy and Nick dashed forward as the bison slammed his clenched hoof into Delgato's stomach, causing the tiger to wheeze and eyes to widen, before a second hoof smashed into his left shoulder, spinning the feline around. It was then the three smaller mammals leapt upon the larger bison, Carol grabbing one of his arms and twisting it back while Judy and Nick pulled out their batons, swatting at the bison's left calf as they slid underneath him. They couldn't do much damage to him, but they could keep him occupied until a better opening presented itself.

They turned to see Delgato leaning against a table, clutching his chest, his breathing haggard and unsteady as well as spotting a certain striped mammal inching his way along the bar, pass the form of the bison trying to shake off the coyote that now had a death grip around on the bison's exposed back mane, digging her elbow into a pressure point on the mammals lower back.

"Fangmeyer!" Judy yelled as she and Nick again assaulted Blane's left knee, trying to force the larger mammal down. The wolf was busy checking the pulse of Wolford, but glanced up at the sound of his name being called.

"Harold's trying to get away!"

The wolf turned and glared at the zebra, a snarl escaping his lips as he leapt towards the escaping equid.

A yelp from above caused both Nick and Judy to turn back and face Blane, when a large furry grey object slammed into them. The three mammals rolled across the ground, Judy pinned underneath Carol's larger form while Nick struggled out from underneath the somewhat larger mammal, only to be pushed back to the ground as Blane's hoof snatched him by his neck and slammed him against the wooden floor.

"You seem to have caused a lot of trouble as of late." Blane glared at the fox, his voice coming out raspy through the muzzle as he lifted Nick into the air and threw him against the far wall. Nick yelped as his back made contact with the wood, taking the breath from him as he watched Blane reach down again towards Judy.

"Leave her alone!" Nick gasped, pawing at his throat as he watched him lifting his partner from underneath Carol, the coyote shaking her head while pushing herself up.

"Oh, you care for this lagomorph?" Blane asked, turning his attention from the squirming rabbit in his hoof, kicking at his wrist while desperately trying to loosen his hold on her.

Nick stood, then raced forward.

"You can have her then," Blane shouted, before throwing Judy above Nick. The fox's eyes widened as he saw Judy flying towards a nearby dart board.

Leaping up, he managed to barely make it into Judy's flight path, knocking them both sideways and tumbling to the ground. Heavy hoof-falls started towards them until the shadow of the bison blocked out the light from above.

"It would appear this is the end for you."

Blane reached down, only to rear back and stumble to his knees with an anguished shout. Both Nick and Judy looked down to see Carol jumping away from the back of Blane's left leg. The coyote's jaw was covered in crimson as she spat out a hunk of flesh, grimacing at the handiwork her fangs had done to the bison's hamstring, or what remained of it…

Both rabbit and fox wasted no time at the brief respite. The pair launched into action, deftly avoiding the flailing arms of the bison as he attempted to grab them, as they struck their batons into certain points along the bison's side and armpits. With a particularly painful groan after a strike from Nick, the bison swatted the fox away with a semi-limp arm, the fox whimpering as he struck an overturned table.

Judy's control over her rage had reached its limit as she saw Nick rubbing at the back of his head, coughing up specks of blood. After the weeks they've had of dealing with murderous zebra's, aimed at hurting the one she held most dear, Judy finally snapped.

_Nobody hurts my fox!_

Judy bolted forward, leaping up and smashed a double kick into Blane's face, only knocking the bison backwards slightly, but the movement was enough. As soon as Blaine's weight shifted to his ruined leg, it buckled and he fell heavily to his knees. Upon landing, she saw Carol standing at the opposite side of the bison, and offered the coyote a nod before both females ran forward. Leaping into the air, both mammals turned in a complete circle, bringing their right legs around before smashing both into Blane's skull.

The bison never saw it coming.

The force of the assault seemed to shatter time, as for the briefest amount of moments, all in the bar was still as the bison's skull was caught between the two kicks. Then, as time shook itself awake, the bison's head turned in Carol's direction, before the larger mammal slid to the ground opposite of Judy, collapsing in a lump of dust and debris that flew up as his hit the floor.

Carol stared at the rabbit across from her with both a look of pride and worry. She hadn't expected Judy's kick to be even more powerful than her own, as she had  _taught_  Judy this technique herself.

 _I'm going to have to get in more leg days..._ she thought, before her attention was quickly devoted to the howl coming from the other end of the bar, only for it to be quickly followed by another which was soon cut off.

The coyote turned just in time to see Fangmeyer howling, and Harold's hoof connecting with the wolves neck, sending him sprawling to the floor.

In a flash, the coyote, rabbit and fox were in front of the door as the zebra tried to leave, finding himself cornered by two of the mammals as Carol went to check on Fangmeyer.

"It's over Harold," Judy stated, drawing her taser as she and Nick cornered the zebra. "Give yourself up and come quietly."

The zebra spat on the ground. "I ain't never giving up to some fleabag and his bunny-hunny toy." The equid reached into his pocket, just as both Nick and Judy pulled the triggers on their tasers.

Their shots rang true, and the zebra spasmed as electricity coursed through his body. After several seconds, the shaking stopped, the zebra laying huffing on the ground.

"Give me a reason to hit you again," Nick growled as he spared a glance at the two injured officers in the room that he considered his friends. They were his adopted family, and one that after twenty years of living basically alone, did not want to give up. His eyes fell upon the rabbit standing shoulder to shoulder with him. His partner, his life…

...his  _everything._

His paw tightened upon the grip of his taser, daring the zebra to even flinch towards them.

"Eheh," Harold chuckled, trying, and failing at pushing himself up to his hooves before collapsing back to the ground. "I should have known it would come to this."

The zebra shook as he brought his hoof to his mouth, a small, semi crushed blue pellet in it.

Both Nick and Judy's eyes widened as the zebra shoved the pellet into his mouth and bite down.

The results were nearly instantaneous as the powder in the pellet burst onto Harold's tongue and lips, absorbing into his system within seconds. Arching his back, the zebra let out a horrible whinny as his limbs began to thrash against the floor.

Both Judy and Nick took a step back, then another; giving the zebra plenty of room for what they knew was coming next.

"Carol," Judy stated, her ears swivelling towards the sounds of sirens coming towards them from outside. "Help Delgato in getting Fangmeyer and Wolford out of her please."

The worry in the doe's voice was enough for the coyote, who nodded before helping Fangmeyer to his feet by standing under his arm, before beginning to walk over to Delgato who was stumbling towards Wolford.

Another whinny sounded from the zebra, though one that didn't sound... _normal._

After being in the presence of three savage mammals, both rabbit and fox knew something was wrong.

Harold began thrashing more violently, falling onto his chest and face, a bright blue foam forming around his lips as his eyes widened and rolled to the back of his head. A cloud of blood and blue mist burst from his throat before a heavy moan left his lips, his head slumping to the ground.

Judy spared a quick, wide eyed look at Nick, before the two cautiously approached the larger mammal as a guttural wheeze came from him. Careful to avoid stepping on any of the blue tainted spittle shot from Harold's gaps, the two approached him as he gave a single, long groan, his head slumped to the ground.

Being closer to his chest, Nick leaned forward, placing his paw over Harold's heart, checking for a pulse while Judy did the same by holding onto one of his hooves. Spittle and foam still frothed from his mouth and down his muzzle, covering his neck in the blue tinted foam.

As the sirens were joined by the sound of screeching tires and the hoof-falls of mammals in heavy riot gear burst into the room, tranquilizer guns drawn and led by Sergeant Wimbley, only one thought passed through the minds of both mammals, forming into two words spoken at the same time by both of them.

"He's dead…"

 


	38. Dead Ends

 

"Nick, what just happened…?"

The fox shook his head, disbelief in his own eyes apparent at the suddenness of Harold's unexpected suicide.  _Or was it?_  Nick asked himself, not sure what had really occurred in the past few minutes. In one minute, they had cornered him and he had bitten into the nighthowler pellet, and the next…

His gaze fell upon the glazed over eyes of the dead mammal. Shivering despite the warmth in the bar, he looked away from his childhood bully and down towards the bunny kneeling near the zebra's arm. "I don't know, Judy," he replied softly. Checking the pulse on the zebra's neck, carefully avoiding the blue foam popping and fizzling around Harold's mouth, he felt for activity just to be sure. With no pulse to be felt, Nick shook his head before crawling away from the deceased.

Judy did the same, stepping nimbly backwards to avoid any trace amounts of night howlers that Harold had consumed. The thought of accidentally getting any on her or Nick's paws frightened her, considering how potent the dosage must have been to cause such a horrible and painful death in the equine.

As she placed weight upon her right foot, she felt a sudden jolt of pain shoot up her leg, which soon collapsed underneath her. Before she hit the ground, Nick was there.

"Carrots!"

He was by her side in a flash, supporting her as he stooped low so she could use his shoulder as a crutch. "I got you..."

Judy winced as she stretched her right foot, the same she had used both to redirect several hardened pool balls as well as stun a massive bison.

"Do I really need to  _cue_  you in?" she stated with a slight grin, proud of her own pun despite the circumstances surrounding them. She was incredibly grateful for the smile that appeared on her partner's muzzle. It was something she hadn't seen enough of in the past few days and weeks as she leaned into his side, grateful to feel his warmth pulsing through her from his embrace.

"What happens now?" Judy asked as Fangmeyer and Carol approached with Delgato, who was still carrying Wolford.

"A whole lotta paperwork," Delgato grumbled, placing Wolford on one of the few tables that hadn't been overturned in the fight, pushing aside a deer that was groaning on the ground next to it.

"Stuff it, Bambi!" the tiger growled as the deer let out another groan.

"Hey, momma wouldn't appreciate you calling me that," the deer slurred.

"Bambi, I doubt your momma is still around to care about a sad sack of fleas like yourself. Now shut up before I cuff your muzzle to your tiny antlers!" Delgato replied while bending down and hastefully flipping the deer onto his back before applying a set of pawcuffs.

"Harsh," Nick stated as the tiger finished clicking the cuffs into place. "I know Jimmy over there, and his mother actually  _isn't_  around anymore."

Judy's eyes shot up to give Nick an incredulous look. "How do you…"

"Know him?" Nick replied, a cheekish grin appearing on his muzzle. "Have you forgotten? I know everyone, Fluff."

"Right…" Judy groaned, "why did I even bother asking?" She lowered her head, though her gaze was slowly drawn back to the elephant in the room...Harold's lifeless form lying only a few feet away.

_He's really dead..._

The sinking feeling of dread that had been clamoring its way up into her mind finally scaled her final defenses, shattering her disbelief and outright refusal to accept the obvious. A mammal was dead, lying just a few feet away from her, and even though he had been the bringer of so much physical pain to her and Nick, this final... _emotional_  hammer blow nearly knocked her onto her tail.

Her shoulders slumped and the tears came quickly, yet no sobs jolted her body.

She simply wept quietly.

_Wept_  at the absolute horribleness of it all. Of every cruelty and malicious act thrown into the world.

_Wept_  at the pain both her and Nick had gone through.

_Wept_  at the pain that others had inflicted upon them due to the zebra's actions.

She cried for many reasons...the loss of life, the loss of hope, the infliction of so much pain over such a stupid grudge, but most of all, she wept for Nick.

Whom unnoticed by her, had tugged her just that little bit closer to his side, caressing her ears gently as the rabbit's emotions poured out from her soul, filling the room. Delgato, noticing the rabbit's current state, motioned to Fangmeyer that he was heading outside. The wolf nodded, tending to Wolford as the tiger grabbed his radio from his belt and spoke into it as he walked outside, the piercing noise of police sirens again filling the void surrounding them.

Even the entry of the first officers to respond on the scene couldn't peel her gaze away from the look of terror in the zebra's cold, unflinching eyes. The lack of any life in them, as well as the contortions of his limbs, created a feeling of illness inside of her, the want to retch becoming more and more prevalent.

Yet she couldn't take her eyes off of the body.

"First body, Hopps?"

Carol's voice startled her from her trancelike gaze that had focused on the body.

"What?" the rabbit asked, training her tear-filled amethyst eyes onto the coyote.

"I asked if this was your first body," Carol repeated, more gently than before. The rabbit nodded as Nick rubbed her back.

"Come on, Fluff. Let's get you out of here."

The doe nodding again into his chest, Nick gently moved her away from the growing noise in the bar as more officers appeared and began pawcuffing suspects, while others stared in amazement at the four officers and Carol, wondering how they had managed everything that they were seeing. Nick had led Judy nearly to the doors, picking her up at one point to jump over the prone form of a ram lying on the ground. The rabbit in his arms didn't seem to mind, as she only snuggled deeper into Nick's shirt, paws clutching at the fabric as he felt it become damp from her tears.

"It will be alright, Carrots," he whispered as they reached the doors to the bar.

"Not if you go out like that it won't."

Nick froze, feeling Judy stiffening in his arms before she squirmed and jumped out to the ground directly in front of Chief Bogo. Wiping at her eyes furiously, she stood to attention, quickly saluting her boss.

"Sir," she began, her voice wavering slightly, "I know that you are probably mad at us and-"

"Can it Hopps," Bogo drawled, his voice neutral as he surveyed the scene before him. The bunny was surprised by how mellow his tone was, as she had suspected a full on barrage of questions and accusations from the Chief. Both she and Nick watched in nervous anticipation as he finished scanning the room, eyes settling upon the prone form of Harold who was finally being looked over by a detective arriving on scene. Letting out a rumbling snort as he finished, he turned his attention back onto the two smaller officers. "Well it seems like you've managed nearly as big a mess as the Night Howlers Incident."

It came out before he could hold it in. "No trains were harmed in the making of  _this_ production, Chief." Only after the words shot out of his mouth did he wince, realizing just how horrible a statement he had made.

Thankfully, Bogo simply glared at the fox before continuing. "You two clean up a bit. The media has already shown up in herds and I don't need the headlines covered with pictures of weeping officers. So suck it up and report to my office immediately."

"Sir," Nick chimed in. The water buffalo glared down at him, nostrils flaring as Nick pointing down to Judy's foot, which the bunny had hanging above the ground so as to not put any pressure on the hurt paw. "Judy needs medical attention, and so do Wolford and Delgato. As much as I'd love to talk with you all night, I want to make sure Hopps here is hopping around like usual for it."

No emotion showed on Bogo's face, but both mammals saw his shoulders relax….albeit nearly insignificantly. "Report to one of the ambulances outside and get checked out,  _then_  come to my office. Understood?"

Both nodded and said in tandem, "Yes sir."

"Good," Bogo growled, before pointing a hoof at the door. "Now get out while I figure out this latest mess you've made." His eyes again shifted towards back inside the room, though the scowl that appeared on his face when he noticed several officers around Blane made them want to leave quite quickly.

"What did I say about kicking the suspects, McHorn!" Bogo roared, stomping over to the rhino as Nick and Judy made their escape, sneaking out the door and into the bright light of the late afternoon sun.

"Oh sweet cheese and crackers," Judy muttered.

Outside was even more chaotic than inside the grimy and seedy bar, as it appeared as if all of Precinct 1, alongside Precincts 3 and 7, had arrived outside the bar, clogging up the road in all three directions of the t-intersection for nearly fifty yards each way, all with their lights flashing. Cruisers were being redirected, then moved again as large police vans tried making their way through the mess of vehicles to get as close to the bar as possible to collect the awaiting suspects. Several ambulances at the periphery were making their way, slowly, towards the bar.

Walking past the first line of vehicles, the partners jumped backwards into the side of a cruiser, with the fox pushing the bunny up against the door to protect her as a line of TUSK mammals jogged past and into the bar.

"A little late for the ball game," the fox chided, watching the mammals disappear inside the bar which was slowly growing more and more crowded as officers made their way inside. His attention again turned down. "You ok, Carrots?"

She nodded, ears still drooping behind her, indicating she was anything but well. Sighing himself, he placed a quick kiss between her ears before he stepped out from the side of the vehicle, making sure that no more TUSK teams were going to accidentally crush them. It would be quite the shame, Nick thought, if they had survived everything so far, only to be crushed by one of their own.

"Nick?"

"Yeah, Carrots?" Nick replied, glancing down at his partner.

"I think I can hear an ambulance off to the right," she stated mutely

Nodding, Nick turned them in that direction as they made their way through the labyrinth that was becoming the crime scene. "Feels like old times, doesn't it…" Nick drawled in amusement. "Why does it seem like at the end of all our big cases, you always end up with a leg injury?" He watched as Judy shook her head, the barest hints of a smile tugging at her lips.

"Or…" Nick grinned, trying anything to take Judy's mind off of recent events, "you just enjoy leaning into your foxy partner, eh?" With the additional wagging of his eyebrows, he felt a growing amount of hope as a soft chuckle came from the rabbit Even getting lightly elbowed in the ribs by her felt wonderful, as she was beginning to look somewhat happier.

_Keep it up Nick…_

"Well, as you know Fluff," Nick continued, "You can always…" he took in a deep breath, before he squeezed Judy in close, "lean on me! When you're not strong! And I'll be your mate...I'll help you caaaarrry onnnnn!"

_"Nick…_!" Judy squeaked, as several nearby officers turned to see where the poorly sung song was coming from. Her mortification only grew exponentially as the officers began whispering among themselves, several laughing as the vulpine continued singing. "Please  _stop…_ "

Laughing aloud, Nick used the opportunity to have some fun, "What? Does my lovely bunny not like Bill Woolthers?"

"It's not that…" she murmured, wanting to hide behind her ears as she noticed several officers from Precinct 1 grinning at them. "It's…"

"Oh good," he interrupted. "As I love the chorus even more." Taking another breath, he mentally grinned as Judy groaned, and he began singing anew. "So just call, on me mammal, when you need a paw! We all need, somebody, to leaaaann on!"

The pair continued on towards the ambulance, Judy frantically trying to speed ahead, yet her partner, doing his best to keep her from further injuring her foot, kept her close by her side. If not for the worst version she'd ever heard of one of her favorite old time singers, sung by her favorite fox, she would have enjoyed the closeness of him pulling her into his side like this.

She knew what Nick was trying to do, and that is what counted the most to her. So despite her trying to playfully move away from him, or even trying to silence him by slapping his face with her ears, which worked the first two times before he gave one a lick on her third attempt, preventing a fourth altogether, she finally gave in and allowed him to pull her close, enjoying his scent as it soothed her troubled nerves.

She didn't expect his next comment however.

"Strange way to celebrate today though."

Judy looked at Nick curiously as they continued making their way between, around, and sometimes under, police vehicles, while heading towards a nearby ambulance. "What do you mean Nick? What celebration?"

The fox played off some faux astonishment, placing his free paw over his heart. "You mean you don't remember that most important day in our lives?"

A swelling feeling of embarrassment began filling Judy's chest as her mind searched for what celebration she had missed.

_Is it his birthday? No...I looked that up and it isn't for another few months…_

As Nick watched Judy wracking her brain for whatever event she had unknowingly missed, he let out a loose chuckle. "Carrots, do you remember a certain bridge…?"

Judy froze, eyes widening as realization hit her. "The bridge…" she murmured, before groaning and hiding her head behind her paw. "The  _bridge..._ how could I have forgotten…"

"Beats me, Fluff," Nick replied. "I mean, it was less than two years ago when you changed my life for the better with your emotional bunny ways."

"Har har," Judy replied, giving Nick a genuine smile. "So what are you planning for this special day?"

Nick put a paw to his chin, pondering the question thoughtfully. "Well, I suppose we could get into a bar fight, solve some crimes…" he glanced down at Judy wiggling his eyebrows, "you could show off your amazing 'bun fu' in action."

"You were just as amazing in there, Slick," Judy responded, moving her paw to flick his nose. Nick twitched as she laughed, though he soon joined her as the mood lightened between them as they arrived at the ambulance.

"One fox and bunny, ready to be checked over," Nick spoke smoothly, looking over at a leopard standing inside the ambulance, who was scratching his head as he looked over the massive scene of flashing lights and police vehicles in front of him. The feline looked down and smiled. "Ah, it's you two again."

"Again?" Judy asked, looking up at Nick who simply shrugged.

"Sorry," the large cat replied. "You wouldn't have remembered. I was one of the paramedics that arrived to help you a few months ago. That time when you two captured that rampaging horde of squirrel thieves. You know, the one where you used the honey and the fire hose to-"

"We remember," Judy replied with a grin. "That was all the fox's idea, as Chief Bogo didn't really appreciate it that much."

"It was quite a sticky situation," Nick chimed in, chuckling. "But it all ended well, eh  _honey_?" Nick jabbed Judy lightly in her side as Judy rolled her eyes.

The leopard laughed, wiping at his eyes before looking again at the couple standing in front of him. "So, what do I need to patch you two up for today, hmm?"

"Well," Nick began, before being cut off by Judy.

"We are actually in a  _really_  big rush," she began with a grin. "So I hope that you can check us out quickly so we can get off to our big plans for the night."

"Big plans?" Nick asked, looking down at the rabbit.

"Yes, very big plans. Big,  _big_ , plans," she repeated merrily. "So...Nick would you like to be checked out first?"

The fox placed his paws upon his waist, hesitating only as he made sure Judy could stand on her own. "Carrots, I don't know what you're planning, but you are getting looked at first."

"I'd agree with Officer Wilde here, Officer Hopps," the paramedic explained. "I can tell by the way you're favoring your left paw that you may have a stress fracture in your metatarsal that need to be checked out, preferable with an x-ray."

Judy glanced at the panther impatiently. "If you think it is broken or fractured, then let's get a boot on it so you can check out Nick. He hit a table rather badly with his head so you should make sure he doesn't have a concussion."

"What?" Nick nearly yelped.

"Just do it," Judy reprimanded, with the vulpine nodding slowly.

"Alright, you're the boss."

Eyes widening, the medical worker nodded. "Alright...although this is all a bit unconventional and-"

Judy's good foot would have started tapping the pavement if not for her dislike of falling to the ground by placing all her weight on her bad foot. Instead, she settled on a fierce glare that caused the paramedic to gulp.

"Fine, as you wish."

Judy's check up went quickly, as it was found she had indeed fractured her third metatarsal in her right foot. After a correct sized boot was selected for the rabbit, which she placed on herself, stating that she had experience with many broken paws back home, she quickly moved off the gurney and told the paramedic she'd be right back and to make sure that Nick was given a thorough check. The fox protested vehemently, but his protests went unheeded after she mentioned she had seen him coughing up blood earlier after being hit in the chest.

She hated the look he had given her, along with the pitiful whine which accompanied it, yet she had a job to do. She was going to make  _her_  fox happy tonight...and there was only one mammal that she could talk to in order to make that happen.

Nick watched her hobbling off with her newly attached boot, worried about his partner while also equally puzzled about what she was planning. He knew when she was scheming, and her words and actions had  _'secret plot bunny'_ written all over it.

He'd amuse her requests for now, but still...the worry nagging at him that he didn't want her to leave his side nearly made him jump out of the ambulance and follow her. His respect for her was the only thing that kept him glued to the gurney…

...as well as a 150 pound feline holding him in place, something he realized when he began poking and prodding him, especially when he touched a certain part of his arm.

"Now, does this hurt?"

Nick let out a yelp, followed by a whine.

"I take that as a yes."

* * *

Chief Bogo wasn't hard to find, as she could hear him long before she could see him; his booming voice could be heard even over the din of everything else going on. As she rounded a cruiser, she finally saw exactly  _who_  it was that was entertaining the Police Chief's full measure of his wrath.

"Sir, I.." Sergeant Wimbley began, the TUSK commander looking quite afraid at the moment.

"Shut it!" Bogo bellowed, glaring down at the much smaller mammal. "Why weren't you here sooner?"

"Well, my team and I were stuck in traffic due to a jaywalking sloth sir. We couldn't get around and…"

"Which road were you on…" Bogo demanded, glaring down at his subordinate fiercely.

Another gulp came from the porcine mammal. "Alfalfa and Broadleaf, sir."

Bogo pulled a radio from his belt as all the officers involved in the fight, as well as Carol, watched on.

"Clawhauser, do you have any reports of an accident on Alfalfa and Broadway in the past half hour?" Nearly a minute passed away in silence, with Bogo irritably changing his glance from the radio to the boar, then to the other officers making their way in and out of the bar, while several of the more lucid suspects, including a capybara Judy had knocked out, were being slowly led outside to waiting police vans. Judy watched as several fur vacuums were hauled into the bar, before her attention turned back to Chief Bogo as his radio crackled to life.

"Chief, no reports of any accidents on Alfafa and-"

"Thank you, Clawhauser," Bogo replied, cutting off the cheetah in a sickly sweet voice as his eyes slowly turned onto Wembley."

"Sir, I can explain…" the boar began only to be silenced by the fury in Bogo's eyes.

"You're  _fired…_ " he growled, advancing upon the now startled mammal before placing out his hoof. "Badge!"

In an all too familiar scene to Judy, she watched as the two mammals stood facing each other. Finally, in an all too recognizable sigh of defeat, Judy watched the former TUSK commander visibly deflate, before his hoof went to the polished badge on his chest...

Judy felt like she should intervene, the scene all to reminiscent of one she had experience barely two years earlier. Just as she was about to speak up, the words already in her throat, her desire to help the boar were dashed with a few curt words that came from him before she could speak up in his defense.

"Can't believe you like that dirty pelt and cute little bunny more than your more  _respectable_  officers," the boar spat, causing Judy's jaw to drop and her previous words in defense of her fellow officer to disappear from her mind completely.

_Was that the real reason why he arrived so late?_  She wondered, feeling a growing well of anger growing towards the boar.

"Get out of my sight," Bogo demanded, snatching the badge out of the former TUSK commander's hoof.

"Officers Snarlov, Burrton, please escort Pickney back to Precinct One to await further punishment, and notify Clawhauser that I want IA investigating him immediately as towards his conduct in not arriving to help out his fellow officers in a life or death situation."

The two officers nodded, leading the shamed but defiant boar out of sight. Bogo sighed heavily as the former TUSK commander disappeared. Turning, he noticed his smallest officer looking up at him.

"Hopps," he began, an eyebrow raising as he noticed the boot on her foot. "Sorry you had to hear that." His voice was filled with...was it regret? Whatever it was, Judy shook it off with Bogo's next comment. "Where's Wilde?"

"Back at the ambulance," Judy replied, rubbing her paws together. "Sir, I know this will seem like a far fetched request, however…"

"Why do I already feel like I won't enjoy where this is going…?" Bogo drawled.

"Actually," Judy stated, a slight grin coming over her muzzle. "I think you just might like this one…"

* * *

"I don't know how you did it," Nick stated, grinning at his partner as they walked towards their cruiser. "How did you manage to convince Chief Buffalo Butt to get the rest of the evening off for us? And I know you would have  _loved_  to get the paperwork for this mess out of the way before clocking off early, so...what is little miss 'never-leave-work-early' planning for tonight?"

"Really? You think I'm planning something?" Judy questioned with a grin. She was greatly enjoying the fox's incessant questioning after she had returned to the ambulance to find Nick with a bored expression, which instantly disappeared the second he saw her as he scrambled off the vehicle to scoop her up in his arms, giving her a quick nuzzle as a greeting. "What do you think I would like to do tonight?"

"Paperwork," Nick stated while holding up his paw and lifting up a finger. "Then give our statements to IA per procedure, visit the hospital to say hello to Sharon and the night crew, as we've been there, what...fifteen times now?" Judy laughed as Nick grinned. "You know, I think we owe them a fruitcake for Christmas since they are about as close to what constitutes family in this city for both of us now."

"Easy there, Slick," Judy reprimanded. "We want them to  _like_  us when we show up, and I'm sure a fruitcake would only cause the opposite to happen."

"So what  _are_  we doing tonight then?" Nick again asked, prompting yet another eye roll from the bunny.

"You'll see. But tomorrow, Chief wants us in early to discuss handing over our statements, as well as discussing the end of us living at the apartment."

"Right…" Nick said, his excitement suddenly becoming more muffled at the prospect of leaving the apartment. It wasn't like they had spent much time there, as the majority of their stay had been in Bunnyburrow, but...it was the memories that they had shared in that place; the start of their relationship and blooming love that caused a little bit of his heart to yearn not to leave it so soon.

The pair reached their cruiser quickly, though leaving the scene was anything but fast as several patrol cars were between them and the closest way out. As they jumped into their seats, Nick taking the driver side due to Judy's injury, a groan came from his muzzle.

"Looks like our favorite mammals in the world have arrived."

Judy didn't even need to see the animals that Nick spoke of to know who they were...reporters, as the dozens of flashing lights directed at their cruiser were proof enough for the bunny. Still, she turned to look out the back window, staring at the multiple news vans parked several cruisers behind their own. "This is going to be a madhouse to get out of…" Judy groaned, turning around in her seat before slouching down, shoulders and ears slumped.

"Eh, I reckon it won't be so bad, Fluff," Nick chimed in, switching into reverse as a lion from Precinct 3 began guiding them backwards and out of the jam of police vehicles. Judy's ears perked up.

"Was that... _optimism_  I heard just now?" she asked, a sly grin appearing on her lips. Crossing her arms across her chest, looking rather happy with herself, she smiled at the vulpine. "Look at you! I would have never imagined seeing the day when Nicholas Piberious Wilde was more optimistic than…"

The car jerked to a stop, throwing Judy back into her seat as Nick simply grinned. "Oops, sorry. Didn't see that sloth crossing the road behind me. What were you saying Carrots?"

"Sly fox," Judy said with a grin as Nick continued to back out of the jammed road, only to find another problem waiting them just past the police barricade. Judy noticed the slight dip in his smile, then frowned herself when she noticed the mass of cars ahead of them as Nick shifted in to park and stare at the mess ahead of them.

Several officers were actively yelling with the assembled reporters to move their vehicles, though the crush of mammals all vying for the best picture of the mess in front of them caused quite an uproar of itself.

_Especially_  when they noticed the two officers in the cruiser staring right at them. Nearly all the reporters turned and began swinging their cameras on the latest celebrity couple. And barely visible through the crush was a single rabbit.

"Easy there, Carrots," Nick enjoined as he heard Judy's seatbelt unlatch next to him. "He does have every right to be here, even though I wouldn't mind seeing a  _hare_  less of him."

Judy huffed, glaring daggers at the other bunny who offered a weak smile of his own directed at them, one which Judy returned with an even darker glower. "And to think we still have to have to deal with him through an interview…"

"Never said how long it would be," Nick rejoined with a shrug, watching as a rhino officer was trying to get the Sloth News truck to move, his hoof waving over his head in apparent frustration. "We could just answer one question and leave."

"Still too long for me," Judy sighed. "I mean, why can't we cancel? Claim a conflict of interest?"

"Or that they'd be a conflict that would be interesting?" Nick added with a grin before turning to see if an opening had been made in the wall of news vans. "And in case you're wondering, I'd be betting on you in that meeting."

"Jerk," Judy replied, though not able to keep a smile from forming. The two sat for another several minutes, the fox leaning back in his chair, placing his sunglasses on to avoid the bright flashes from the cameras while Judy slumped in her seat to avoid the press.

"Well that's interesting…"

"What?" Judy asked, jumping up in her chair. Nick pointed towards the ZNN van that was slowly backing up... _towards_  the mass of reporters currently blocking the way out.

It went unnoticed at first, but slowly, as the van closed with the press pool, its approach became apparent as the back of the van bumped a hippo from Nine News Now. It produced a rippling effect across the gathered herd of mammals, who suddenly became  _very_  aware of the van backing up towards them.

"Who is doing that?" Judy asked as one of the police officers ran towards the vehicle, banging on the door as the press pool quickly moved out of the way of the backing up vehicle. Her question was quickly answered when two long, white ears with black stripes appeared in the window of the ZNN vehicle. Judy's jaw hung open as the van continued to back up, opening a path that had been blocked up to that point by the assembled journalist.

"I think that's our cue," Nick chimed in, putting the car into drive and slowly crawling forward as the van window opened, with Jack Pawson leaning out of it with a very sheepish expression on his face as he spoke with the tiger officer yelling at him. The buck gave the passing cruiser a wink before going back to the dressing down he was receiving from the officer.

The next few blocks passed while both sat in quiet disbelief, before the silence was finally broken by Nick. "I think we could add him to the list of those we give fruitcakes for Christmas."

Judy groaned.

* * *

"Take a left here," Judy commanded pointing down a road as Nick obediently followed, the vulpine growing more impatient with each direction given.

"Come on Carrots, you can't keep me in the dark all night," he grumbled. "What is it that you are scheming in that bunny brain of yours?"

"You'll see," Judy replied, bouncing a little in her seat while grinning mischievously. "Oh, another left!"

"Carrots!" Nick hissed, quickly turning on his blinker and slowing dramatically to make the turn, getting a loud honk from the car behind him.

Judy looked on smugly at the vulpine. "Don't even say it," Nick murmured. "I know you want to, but what you want to say, don't say it."

"Are all foxes bad drivers?" Judy asked, grinning from cheek to cheek. "Or is it just you?"

"You've been waiting to say that for the past few months, haven't you?" Nick sighed, rolling his eyes and shooting a mildly amused yet also annoyed glance at his partner.

" _Maybe…_ " she replied. "Though it only took this," she pointed at the boot on her foot, "to finally get my foxy partner to drive so I could say it."

Nick let out a chuckle, then diligently heeded the next few instructions from the rabbit until they pulled up in front of a very familiar apartment building.

"This is your special surprise?" Nick stated in slight amusement.

The bunny nodded. "Yep! Now come on Slick!" Jumping out of the car, hanging onto a special low door handle built in just for smaller mammals, she walked over to the door of the apartment building they had been corralled into just a few weeks earlier. Nick couldn't help but chuckle. He was glad that the despondency he had seen so clearly in her eyes earlier had been replaced by her normal exuberance and zest for life.

_Whatever makes her happy, makes me happy..._ Nick thought pleasantly as he walked after her, Judy hobbling ahead as the boot clunked against the ground with each step. "Hold on there, Darling. Let an old fox catch up to the bunny rab-'boot'."

"Har har," Judy laughed. "Now come on, we have a  _Wilde_  night planned for tonight."

" _That_  was truly terrible, Carrots," Nick said with a grin as they walked into their apartment building. They waved at the receptionist, who didn't even notice them as the groundhog's eyes were glued to the television screen that was airing a news report from ZNN.

_"...Thank you Peter. We are here live a block away from the scene on what apparently looks like an undercover operation by the ZDP has gone terribly wrong. Chief Bogo of the ZPD has refused to comment about the situation, leading to speculation of a coverup by the ZPD as this raid prominently featured the interspecies police couple of Officers Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps, seen here leaving the scene..."_

They continued past the unobservant mammal, the report slightly dampening the bunny's earlier mood. Yet she quickly put a smile back on as she realized her plans for the evening could still work. She had done her homework on the relationships of foxes, and wanted to make tonight special. Judy had planned to do this later, however, the events of tonight made her want to accelerate her plans... _especially_  after seeing Nick being thrown into that table by the bison.

The two made their way up into the elevator, quickly reaching their floor where Nick noticed something unusual.

"I thought we're supposed to have an officer here?" he stated, looking around the hallway and seeing no mammal in sight.

"Bogo said that since the threat to our safety was neutralized, that we wouldn't be needing special protection anymore," Judy exclaimed, as her ears suddenly dropped. "He also said he expected us to be out of here come briefing tomorrow."

"Oh…"

So much was said in that single word from Nick. Judy could feel the welling sadness flowing from him. They had spent nearly every minute of the last few weeks together, joined at the hip, as Bonnie had put it several days into their stay at Bunnyburrow, and the thought that it was coming to an end was off-putting to both the rabbit and the fox.

Which was why Judy wanted to make the most of the time they had. "Come on," the bunny stated. "Grab a blanket from inside and we're heading upstairs." Nodding as a smile suddenly crossed his face, the pair entered their apartment for soon to be one of the final times, grabbing a pillow and blanket each before heading back towards the elevator. The doors opened with a chime as a torch key raccoon walked out carrying a drum case.

Nodding to the other mammal, who stopped and stared at them, they entered the elevator and waited for the doors to close.

"Remember the first time up here?" Judy asked, leaning into Nick's side as she closed her eyes. The fox nodded, his paw wrapping around the lithe bunny's shoulder.

"Of course," he replied. "Though I remember going up quite a different way."

"Better than the ladders?"

"Much," the fox stated as the doors opened to the rooftop landing. Walking the few stairs to the door above, they made their way onto the top of the building, both were pleased to find the entire area vacant as they unrolled their blankets and sat down to watch the setting sun.

Judy's paw found its ways into Nick's, the fox gently taking it in his own as she leaned into him, content in the moment. Up here, she thought, there were no dangers to their lives, no worries about what the next day would bring. Only her fox and some blankets as they leaned against a ledge to watch the setting sun.

"Beautiful," she heard Nick say, as well as hearing a pleasurable sigh escape his lips.

"Mmhmm," Judy replied, nuzzling further into her partner as she opened her eyes, noticing that he was looking directly at her.

"Didn't think you were vain enough to agree with me," the fox snickered, earning a playful nudge.

"Nick…"

The vulpine shrugged. "You did agree with me."

"Well, now that I'm looking up I do," judy shot back, a glint of mischief in her eyes.

"Smart bunny," came the swift reply as Nick leaned down and pressed his lips against Judy' kiss was short, exquisite and sublime, leaving both desiring more in which they quickly gave in to as they leaned in again. Judy's free paw found its way towards Nick's cheek as she let out a low purr. Nick rumbled in response, leaning further into the kiss just as the sun began to set beyond sandy dunes of Sahara Square.

"I love you," Nick whispered as they came apart, only for him to nuzzle against Judy's cheek.

"I know."

The two sat as one, blissfully unaware of their surroundings as the sun eventually disappeared altogether, the lights of the city illuminating the darkened sky.

"I thought we came up here to watch the sunset," Nick finally cajoled. "We might have missed it."

"Just an excuse," the rabbit giggled.

"Oh," Nick remarked, sitting up straight again. "Did my ears just deceive me or did the unquestionable Judy Hopps just tell a  _lie_?"

"It's called a hustle," Judy laughed as she leaned up and placed a quick peck of a kiss on his cheek. Nick could only shake his head as he chuckled, squeezing Judy tight against him as both leaned back and looked up into the night sky.

"Sure isn't Bunnyburrow," Nick wistfully stated. Judy nodded in agreement as a streak of white danced across the sky.

"Oh!" Judy patted Nick's arm as the streak disappeared beyond the mountains of Tundratown. "Make a wish!"

"I already have everything I want right here," Nick purred into Judy's ear, causing a rush of heat to fill her chest.

"Make a wish anyways." As she closed her eyes, Judy urged her fast-beating heart to slow as she felt like it could burst from the adoration coming from her partner.

_Please let this go well..._ she thought, finally opening her eyes, only to see Nick in quiet contemplation. Leaving him for several moments to his ponderings, his eyes finally flickered open, his sparkling green eyes dancing in the lights from their surroundings.

"So…" Judy began, grinning to hide her nervousness. "What did you wish for?"

"Why Carrots," Nick exclaimed, placing a paw over his heart. "If I tell you, then it won't come true and I wouldn't want that as much as I'd want Weaselton as a roommate."

Judy snickered, but pressed on. "Please?" she asked again, folding her ears behind her head as she pressed a paw against his chest. Nick held fast...at least until he saw her nose twitch.

"That look should be declared a weapon of mass distraction," Nick sighed as he offered a quick grin and pulled Judy onto his lap. The rabbit hummed in approval as she stared up into his eyes.

"So…" she inquired.

"So…" he began, "I wished that this," he pointed between them, "will never end. That we'd never have to be apart. These past weeks we've spent together have been amazing."

"Besides the whole escaping death parts?" Judy added as the fox rolled his eyes in response.

"Even with those parts," he said quickly as he placed a quick kiss upon her lips, "as I spent all of them with you." Nick leaned back, noting with pride the insides of Judy's ears turning bright red in the dim light. "So, what did you wish for, Fluff?"

_Now or never…_

"I wished…" she began, cupping both of Nick's cheeks in her paws as her voice grew low. "...that what I'm about to do would be returned in equal measure."

Nick's eyes widened in curiosity, watching as Judy stood in his lap, leaned his head to the side and gently rubbed her cheek against his own. A blast of scents hit his nose, sending a euphoric wave of olfactory bliss pulsing through his mind. It smelt of lavender and spring...of green fields on summer days as the wind rolled through them. Of compassion and boundless enthusiasm for life…

It was the unique scent that could come from only one mammal...Judy.

His eyes widened in realization as Judy finished, leaning back nervously as she watched his expression with her own nervous gaze. Nick tried to speak...he really did...but the suddenness of Judy's actions, as well as the pleasurable aroma coming from his cheek stunned him into utter silence.

The seconds dragged on, the wind whipping up the sounds of the city below them into their ears. Yet over the din of honking cars and broken conversations, the sound of Nick's own heart pulsed louder than them all.

"Nick…?" Judy whispered, snapping him out of his stupor. Traces of tears were in her eyes, her gaze pleading for him to respond. "...Please, say something."

Nick completely ignored her request, instead slamming his lips into hers with such force that it pushed her backwards. He reached out his paws, catching her as the tumbled upon their blankets, the fox holding his bunny tight as the sounds of his love for her rumbled deep from within his throat.

"Wait," he finally murmured before sinking into another kiss that Judy drew him into. His brain almost shut down at the latest euphoric blast of pleasure that thrummed through his body as she bit his lips, gaining another growl from deep within the recesses of his carnal mind. Finally, he pushed away, gasping heavily. "Wait...Judy."

The bunny was in a similar state as he was, fur slightly mussed but the longing in her eyes was more than evident. "What is it?"

Nick let the silence lengthen between them until his breathing finally slowed.

"I haven't answered your question yet…and I believe I owe you an answer." Nick took in a deep breath before returning Judy's gaze. "In fox culture, what you just did was the equivalent of a marriage proposition," he began, noting that Judy's gaze didn't waver at the news. "And it looks like that is something you probably knew. Now, I don't know what it means out in Bunnyburrow, but here in Zootopia, chinning is still something that has a heavy intonation about a relationship and where one wants to take it. Foxes don't mark someone unless they're sure the one they want to mark is the one they want as their mate."

If ever there was a pleading gaze recorded throughout history, the one Judy was giving him at that moment would have trounced them all. "I know what it means Nick," she smiled, "And...and in Bunnyburrow it means the same thing. Sure we've only been in a relationship for a short time, but...I just feel like we've known each other for much longer than we have and with what has happened recently, I don't want to lose you before you knew what you meant to me."

"Judy…" he whispered, wiping the beginning of a tear from her eye. "I feel much the same way, which is why  _this_  is my answer…"

Her breath catching in her throat, Judy saw time drawing still as Nick drew close to her, angling his muzzle before rubbing his cheek against her own, repeating her earlier motion before doing so to the other cheek as well.

"Does that answer your question?" Nick breathed into Judy's ear, causing the rabbit to shiver.

"Yes…" she purred, placing a kiss upon the underside of his muzzle.

_"Well about time!"_

Both mammals jumped in surprise, pushing away from each other, Nick yelping as he landed on his tail. Judy's paw flew to cover her mouth, eyes widening in surprise as she saw two elderly goats sitting in matching lawn chairs in a dark corner of the rooftop. The male, a squat looking mammal with suspenders waved his cane at the pair of younger mammals. "I was wondering when he was going to chin you instead of talking her to death."

"What?" the fox stuttered.

"He said he wanted you to kiss her instead of talking her to death," the female at his side yelled, her comment met with complete and abject embarrassment as Judy hid herself under the blankets.

" _No…no…_ " she whispered, pounding her head against the pillow underneath.

"Look what you did to that young couple, Carl. You ruined their moment!"

"Ellie," the other goat remarked in a gruff tone. "He was going to ruin it if he kept on yammering like he was. I just pushed him along."

"What?" Carl asked, rubbing at his ear with his hoof. "Can't hear you."

As the other couple began talking at one another, Judy closed her eyes as the blankets shuffled around her.

"Room for two in here, Carrots?" she heard Nick ask. Even in the darkness she could make out that he was smirking.

"For you?" she began, reaching out in the dark for his paw. Finding it, she gripped it tightly in her own as she smiled at her mate. " _Always…"_

The kiss they shared was even more blissful as before, the confined space beneath the blanket keeping the heat trapped between the young couple.

A city moving on without them as they enveloped themselves in their own little paradise as for just a moment...time stood still. 


	39. Powers that Be

 

"You know, you still smell a bit like moonshine there, Carrots...I think you might want to take another shower."

The bunny groaned. After the euphoric evening she had shared with Nick the night before, the fox had nearly ruined the moment when he commented on how he was getting drunk on love  _and_ on the fumes of the liquor that had doused on Judy at the bar. With the mood of the evening dashed after that comment, both mammals had retired to their own bedrooms, where Judy opted to take a quick shower before bed.

"I took one last night," she grumbled, "and  _another_  this morning."

"Just means you haven't done it right then," Nick replied with a cheeky grin. "I can help you with that if you'd like-oof!"

Judy's elbow connected with his stomach, earning a half-chuckle, half-groan from the fox. "Wow," he wheezed, "some-bunny was thinking naughty thoughts. I only meant that we could suit up in swimsuits so I could help scrub down those ears of yours."

Judy sent a glare towards her partner that could have frightened Bogo, though only for her own amusement as Nick offered a full chuckle for the look. Raising his paws in surrender, Nick abandoned the conversation, instead bringing the bunny close to his side, relishing the scent of his mark upon her cheek.

 _Still there..._ he thought with satisfaction as the pair looked over the last of their personal effects collected in the living room of their temporary home. It wasn't much - only a suitcase apiece.

"You know, I'm really going to miss this place." Nick glanced around the room, not seeing the space in its physical form, but rather as the memories he and his partner had crafted and shared in the short time they'd spent here. He smiled warmly when he gazed at the spot in the kitchen where Judy had calmed him during his panic attack. Looking at the couch, he could barely suppress a bout of laughter at the memory of Judy counting all the dots on the ceiling, as well as the impromptu pillow fight that had followed.

Finally, his eyes were drawn to the stool sitting in the corner of the dining area. Where the momentous decision to take the trip to Bunnyburrow had been proposed. Nick felt he would always remember the look in Judy's eyes, the brightness and happiness that swirled within them as she gripped him in a tight hug, as well as the tenderness yet heated kiss that had followed. The emotions of those memories jostled about for dominion in his mind. The moment that had launched their relationship, the moments spent comforting each other and all the other tiny events that had added up and brought a smile to the fox's face.

"I know how you feel," Judy responded, her voice lilting with a sad tone. Her paw reached for Nick's, holding it tightly as she leaned her head against his chest, smelling the distinct mark she had left on his cheek the night before. Looking up, she saw the smile her partner was giving her. "Do you think that Bogo would allow us to keep it if we asked nicely?"

Inwardly there was only a fraction of a piece of hope within her that the Chief would allow it. Some of the most wonderful memories of her life had been made in this building...from the stargazing on the roof, to the admissions of love in the hot tub downstairs, to the tender moments of comfort they gave to each other in the moments they needed it most. Though looking into Nick's eyes, she saw the answer, though felt another method might help. "Do you think he'd do it if we bought him Gazelle tickets?'

The fox's laugh echoed around the room, with the walls absorbing the warm sound. "If  _you_  ask nicely and  _maybe_  if you promise him a few tickets. I'm sure that Bogo wouldn't give me the time of day, let alone this place if I attempted that." The two mammals laughed, before Nick gently pushed back Judy's ears and placed a loving kiss between them. "Now," Nick began, "we need to be heading out if we don't want to be late to work...or need I remind you that we have a very big case to finish up today."

"Oh, melon stems!" Judy gasped as she grabbed her suitcase in a hurry while still clenching her partner's paw. Stumbling towards the door, thanks to the boot on her right foot, Judy didn't need to wait for Nick to catch up, though he barely managed to grab hold of his own suitcase in the process.

As Judy fiddled with locking the door, Nick took one last look inside the apartment before the door closed, and an idea churned in his mind.

_I wonder…._

* * *

They  _were_  almost late for work, but for a reason they never would have suspected. The  _lovely_  goat couple from apartment 2B that had interrupted Nick and Judy's tender moment the night before, had been waiting in the lobby for them, offering them each a heart-shaped balloon and a plate of crescent rolls as recompense for their ill-timed comments during the previous evening. Carl had mumbled through an apology while Ellie was much more forward with her congratulations on their relationship.

"Adventure is out there," she had cheered, her eyes twinkling as Carl snorted.

"I thought for a young couple  _adventure_ was back there?" he grumbled, pointing towards the apartments. Both Nick and Judy had hurried off after that, a deep crimson blush heating both of their faces and ears so much that Nick - to break the tension - commented how Judy was almost as red as he was.

The car ride was spent mostly in silence, as both Nick and Judy were too busy trying wrestle with their own thoughts before beginning the day. Judy's mind was filled with both a strange mix of exhilaration and worry. Excitement as the closure of the case neared, meaning that she and Nick might be able to spend more time together, as a couple, than before the case had begun. It opened up so many possibilities for thrills and novel new experiences for the two of them….

 _Going to the movies is going to be a lot different..._ Judy thought with a grin, imagining what it would be like to snuggle up against him in a darkened theater with nobody around to interrupt them.  _Is 'Meowana' still out? I'm sure the theaters would be rather empty at this point…or maybe if it is out on DVD we can just hide in the breakroom at work and watch it during lunch? I wonder if Bogo would catch us if we did...that…._

A new wave of trepidation washed over her at the thought of Bogo finding out about this  _newer_  aspect of their relationship. She remembered from the academy that most partners discovered to be in a romantic relationship had their partnership decided by their boss. Would Bogo approve of them still being partners after this? Or would he split them up?

 _He wouldn't do that..._ Judy thought.  _Nick and I have solved so many cases, and we work so well together. We'll just have to prove we can work even better together now._

Just as her hope began springing up again, another thought invaded her mind.

_Could you even work without him now?_

The thought jarred her mind, and her ears plummeted at the implications of the thought. Could she still work without Nick as her partner? Sure, she had functioned well with other officers while awaiting Nick's graduation from the academy, but after working with Nick...the memories of those days didn't seem so lustrous as they had before. Could she still focus without Nick beside her, cracking bad jokes, making horrible puns and smiling at her in such a way that she felt like melting into a puddle of warmth and happiness?

Rolling the thought around in her mind, she came to the conclusion that she had no other choice than to show Bogo that they could still work together as a great...no, a  _fantastic_ , team together. There was no other option.

Just trying to go to bed the night before had been hard without Nick there at her side, as pictures of Harold kept flashing over the more recent memories of being on the rooftop with Nick. Every time she went to close her eyes,  _he_  was staring back at her, those dull, lifeless eyes searching her soul and carving out all the warmth contained within….

After two hours of tossing and turning and staring up at the ceiling, counting carrots in the vain hope of nabbing sleep, she grumbled into her pillow and got up from her bed. Her pillow and comforter firmly in her paw, she walked to Nick's room, startling the fox awake as she hopped onto his bed and cuddled him, the warmth and closeness he provided banishing the nightmares of hours past.

"Judy? Are you ok?"

At first shocked by the suddenness of Judy joining him, Nick's surprise quickly turned to comfort as he stroked her ears when he heard her first hiccup and dried her tears that quickly followed. It still had taken a while to fall asleep, but in her fox's arms, she finally managed to close her eyes and smile as she saw Nick smiling down at her, instead of a nightmare.

All those thoughts and memories flooding into Judy's mind, giving the fox sitting next to her quite a sight as her emotions played out across her face with each passing thought.

Nick was trying not to be distracted by the contemplative bunny sitting next to him, her gaze focused outside their cruiser's window save for the occasional flicker toward him. The constant changing of her smile and eyes had him quite bemused, almost to the point he'd call it 'cute', if not for his valuing of his arm which was within striking distance of his partner. Again the thoughts of the night before on the roof came to mind. Life had suddenly taken a marvelous turn the night before, and Nick was still trying to come to terms with what they had done.

Judy had marked him, and he had marked her.

 _I've marked...a bunny..._ he thought, a smile splashing across his face despite his slamming on the brakes as two bicycling antelope cut off the massive patrol car. The smile didn't fade even as one of the mammals offered a discourteous gesture before cutting off another driver in the next lane over.

_What to do now…_

There were so many things that Nick had to do in order to properly court Judy. After the torrent of emotions the night before, he now rested in a basin of placidity, trying to discover the emotional state he was now left in. His walls were shattered and torn apart, his heart beating rapidly in his chest while anxiety chilled the fast-flowing blood.  _I need to figure this out. I need to get her some flowers, we need to go ring shopping. Bogo should probably know so I don't get her in trouble with our boss…._

Eyes widened in shock, and the fox froze in his seat.

_I haven't asked for permission from her mother…._

A groan escaped his pursed lips, attracting the attention of his partner.

"Are you alright?" she asked, putting her paw tentatively over his arm.

Unlike the flood of questions churning in his head, Nick's answer was blunt and to the point to hide his swirling emotions tossing idea after idea at him that he hadn't done properly so far in their relationship. "I didn't ask Bonnie permission to mark you…."

Judy's reply was equally short but riddled with confusion. "Why would you need to do that?"

"It's...a bit of a fox tradition. With the vixens being the ones who initiate a relationship, as you had researched last night…" Nick sent her a smile, at which Judy blushed, though with a faint smile, before the fox continued. "...it is customary for the vixen to mark her chosen mate first with his approval, but afterwards, the tod would have to ask for permission to become part of the female's family line from the oldest living matriarch."

"Oh…" Judy replied, looking down into her paws in her lap. "I didn't know…."

Putting out his paw, he ruffled Judy's fur between her ears. "Ignorance of the law is no excuse, officer," he mock-chided with a grin.

"Oh, is that a  _law_ now?" Judy retorted with her own smirk. "Or are you just calling my mother old?"

"Pleading the fifth," came his quick response, and both shared in a laugh as Precinct One came into view.

Judy groaned, wishing for once in her life that they had more time together before going to work. She loved her job, loved her work family, but, with so much happening - and so quickly - she just wanted a breather from it all.

The boot on her foot was her constant reminder of that, and speaking of which….

"Nick?"

"Yes, Carrots?"

"When should we head to see the ZPD doctor about yesterday?"

Silence greeted her as her partner pulled into their parking spot behind the precinct.

"Nick…?" she asked again.

"Whenever we have the least amount of time to make room for it," he grumbled.

The two entered the Precinct, with Nick scanning the hallways and Judy rolling her eyes while ducking under his forelimb to walk ahead. "Nick, are you really  _that_ afraid of a visit with the doctor?" Judy asked over her shoulder.

"More like what might come  _after_ ," the fox replied. "You realize that we never really did get together with Ursula for physical therapy like we were supposed to after our  _latest_  injuries, so if the doctor clears us, well,  _me_ since you have your foot and…." He let out a nervous laugh, thinking of what the polar bear might have in store for them.

"Ursula isn't  _that_  bad," Judy chuckled as they reached the back stairwell, ascending it slowly to accommodate Judy's boot. Nick let his partner concentrate, offering his shoulder for her for balance until they reached the top of the stairs. She gave Nick a soft peck on his cheek as thanks as they neared their office. The knob turned quickly and didn't emit the loud  _click_  that she expected as she continued their conversation, looking back at Nick with a grin. "I mean, it's not anything you haven't done before., at the academy, and need I remind you that you graduated valedictorian as well so...are you really afraid of that big softie of a polar bear and what she might do to you?"

"Which big softie of a polar bear are you referring to, Fuzzy Bunny?" a boisterous voice proclaimed.

Judy froze, staring at Nick who was looking into their office with horror in his eyes, tail bristled behind him.

"Good morning, officers," a soft voice chimed in. Turning around slowly, ears raised, Judy spotted a  _very_  familiar polar bear instructor, as well as Doctor Lutrinae.

"How did you get in here?" Judy asked nervously.

"And Adrian is considering you two for detectives?" the large polar bear laughed. "Didn't you notice your door was unlocked?"

"Hey...Carrots," Nick chuckled nervously. "I forgot something in the car, so I'll just…" Nick pointed down the hallway, slowly moving backwards until a voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Oh, you ain't getting out of this so easy, Foxtrot," Ursula growled, stomping towards the open door, Judy moving out of the large mammals way until the polar bear was standing directly over Nick. Ursula leaned over, putting her pointed paw an inch in front of the fox's chest. "No, we're all going to head down to get you two hardheads examined,  _fully!_ "

With slumped ears from Judy and a dragging tail from Nick, the two officers formed up behind the smiling Doctor Lutrinae, with Ursula following the group. The only sound coming from the line of mammals as they reached the staircase was the solid clunking of Judy's boot on the tiled ZPD floor.

* * *

Lutrinae's evaluation left both of them feeling sullen. Judy's, as the paramedic had stated was most likely, showed a bruised third metatarsal in her right foot; she would need to keep her foot in the boot for at least four days in order to heal unless she wanted a stress fracture to develop. The glum rabbit frowned at the news, though she accepted it without complaint.

Her mood shifted to one of surprise as a pain-filled yelp split the air while Nick was being examined by the otter. Judy sprang to her feet, wincing slightly at a shot of pain from her foot.

"Don't move that curtain, Judy!" Nick whimpered. "I know you want to so just...don't,  _please._ "

Whether it was the worry in his tone or the way he almost begged her not to come around, Judy quietly - though nervously - took her seat again, wincing every time Nick cried out. Finally, after the fifth or so yelp from the fox, she could take it no longer. With her boot clunking against the floor announcing her presence with great fanfare, she ignored Nick's frantic pleas to stop. She ripped back the curtain, gasping at the sight.

"Oh  _Nick…_ "

The fox was in the middle of frantically grabbing at his shirt, trying to cover his back, but the damage was already dealt. A large swath of the fox's back showed dark purple beneath his red fur. As fast as her bunny legs could take her, Judy jumped onto the examination table and wrapped her arms around Nick's chest, carefully avoiding his back.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, sniffling into the exposed fur of his chest.

"It looks worse than it feels," the fox replied, gently stroking Judy's back. "Only really feel it when I lean back."

"So that's why you were sleeping on your side last night when I came in?" Judy half-asked, half-stated.

"Well," Nick's voice deepened as he whispered softly into Judy's ears, his breath tickling her fur. She bit her lip as he said, "It helped that a  _cute_ little bunny was wanting to cuddle…."

"Nick…" Judy groaned, her eyes flitting over in Lutrinae's direction as the otter laughed.

"I think I'll just chalk this up to patient-doctor confidentiality," he chuckled. "So to answer your next question, no, I won't tell Bogo about your nighttime escapades."

"But we didn't do anything," Judy stammered. "I just needed help sleeping because of what happened with Harold and I could only think of Nick...and…."

"It's okay, Officer Hopps. I'm only here to evaluate both of you to see if you are able to return to work, not judge your personal lives." The rabbit let out a sigh of relief before the otter continued. "Though I think if you get too close to some of the canines in the building, you might be getting more than you bargained for with the scent marks on both of you."

"Oh sweet cheese and crackers on jellied toast…."

"Careful there, Jude the Rude," Nick tsked. "Do you kiss your boyfriend with that mouth?" His snicker was interrupted when Judy's lips pressed against his own in a  _very_  quick kiss.

"Yes, yes I do."

The rest of the time with Lutrinae went well, with the doctor declaring that both could be ready by the end of the following week for active service, with desk duty until then. Neither complained as both felt exhausted from so many near-death experiences in the past week alone that paperwork sounded like heaven compared to foot patrol. Even the knowledge of the looming piles of paperwork barely dampened either of their moods, as both mammals considered the implications of being stuck in their office,  _together_ , with the probability of someone checking up on them so very close to zero.

Judy smiled at that thought. She'd been looking forward to a bit of 'alone time' with her fox lately. Though those kind of thoughts could be put on hold, as there was still much work to be done before a break would be needed.

One of which, she remembered, was that they still had to conduct interviews with Internal Affairs about what happened, write up their statements...though all of those thoughts were jolted from her mind when Nick opened the door for her and

ran into a blockade of white fur in a blue uniform.

"Finally, you two lovebirds finished in there," she rumbled. "Now, let me see those evaluation papers."

The two passed along the documents that Lutrinae had given them, and the polar bear perused them for a moment before scowling. Shoving them back down to the two mammals, she let out a growl that both were  _way_  too familiar with.

"Looks like you two fluffbuckets have a reprieve for now, but don't you expect me to go soft on you to at the end of next week."

With that final statement, she stormed down the hallway, grumbling about 'carrot plucking foxes and cricket chomping rabbits' before she disappeared around a corner.

"Well that went better than I thought," Nick grinned. "Only  _can_ get better after that, right?"

Nick's smile faltered slightly as a wolf officer named Howell turned the corner. "I just jinxed us, didn't I…."

Judy looked from Nick and to the wolf who was now curiously sniffing at the air. "Did you just jinx us?" she stated as the wolf turned towards them, sniffing one last time before giving them a deliciously devious smile. A frown crossed Judy's lips as she turned back to her partner and sighed. "Yes, yes you did."

The pair rushed past the wolf as well as they could, with Judy barely able to move faster than a hobble. Howell said nothing, letting the hammering blows of Judy's boot ricochet down the hallway. Both kept their heads down as they passed the grey wolf, whose grin never left his face.

"Knew you two would get together someday," Howell chuckled right before Nick and Judy could escape . "Way to snag the bunny, Officer Wilde!"

Howell reached out and slapped Nick's back while laughing. The fox winced as he emitted a low whine, staggering forward under the blow.

"Oh, sorry," the wolf apologized quickly when he noticed Judy staring up at him. The two smaller officers walked away, with the bunny asking Nick if he was alright as the wolf watched them go. Picking up the radio from his belt, he grinned again.

"Hey Benji, I think we need to figure out who won round two of the betting pool."

The following squeal of joy was heard all throughout the precinct, as well as on every radio that had an open line from Precinct One.

* * *

Thanks to Howell's announcement over the radio, and Clawhauser's resulting squeal of joy, Nick and Judy were nigh assaulted by congratulations, high fives and more slaps on the back. Well, only  _one_  more slap on Nick's back before Judy dared any other mammal to a bout in the precinct boxing ring if they so much as touched her fox again. Even with the large and unwieldy boot on her dominant foot, nobody went near Nick after that, not wanting the ire of the undefeated sparring champion of Precinct One upon their heads.

Unfortunately, due to all the congratulations from their fellow officers and the unwanted attention that had both of their ears burning in embarrassment, the two arrived late to the bullpen. It hadn't helped that Judy's boot unlatched itself; the poor bunny would have fallen on her face if not for the quick paws of her partner.

"Ah, carrot sticks…" Judy grumbled, pulling on the torn velcro latch on the boot before dropping her paw in exasperation. They had made it three quarters of the way down the stairs, all the while with Judy insisting that despite her foot, she didn't need to take the elevator. "We can't miss the briefing."

"Not to worry, Fluff," Nick laughed, giving her a wink as he moved behind her. The bunny cried out in panic as she was lifted from the ground by two large paws upon her waist, hoisted into the air and over Nick's head, finally coming to rest upon his shoulders. "Ready for a Bunnyback ride?" the fox laughed as he started forward, momentarily throwing Judy off balance before she grabbed hold of Nick's ears.

"Watch the ears!" the fox yelped. He would have tumbled over if not for grabbing the banister built into the side of the stairwell.

"Oh, sorry!" Judy winced, instead wrapping her arms around his ears. Avoiding the stares from other officers, they descended the rest of the stairwell and made their way towards the briefing room, Judy sending a nervous wave at the front desk when Clawhauser squealed in delight at the scene of her riding atop Nick's shoulders.

The pair walked into the bullpen barely on time, only to find Bogo already at the podium. Attempting to walk past him hadn't worked, especially with how Judy was still seated high upon Nick's shoulder, reaching up high enough to where her ears were seen bouncing along to Nick's steps just beneath Bogo's nose, causing the buffalo to give them a second look as they passed him by before he let out a groan. Their entrance gained a few chuckles from their fellow officers.

"Hey Hopps," Officer McGrowl, a cougar leaning back into his chair at the far corner of the room, yelled. "First time I've seen you come in before. You seem to be a 'hare' taller today."

Judy's ears smoldered as they folded behind her, and she offered a small wave to her fellow police mammals as their laughter grew more boisterous and more comments flooded in, especially as Nick didn't allow Judy to dismount from his shoulders before he jumped upon their chair.

Nick and Judy's briefing lasted about as long as that embarrassed wave. Nick had carted her on his shoulders down a flight of stairs all to hear Bogo order them to 'turn your tiny hides around and finish that paperwork from your case before you head home tonight.' Nick again offered a 'Bunnyback ride', but both decided it would be better to take the elevator after Nick had looked up at the stairs he would have to climb. After ascending much more easily, they started walking back to their office. Along the way, Nick received separate texts from Fangmeyer and Delgato, the former wishing him good luck with the paperwork and the latter offering to buy him a shovel.

 _Delgato always thought he was clever…._ Nick mused as he shook his head at the text message.

When they  _finally_  returned to their office, they found that Delgato hadn't been lying when he had mentioned how much paperwork last night's activities had accrued. Everything from turning on their sirens to every action taken against the individuals arrested in the bar had to have a report, which included an explanation as to why it was necessary. Bogo clearly hadn't been joking when he had assigned the four of them to "Papercut Duty" before kicking them out of the morning briefing. A mountain of forms and black ink lay upon both of their desks, while nearly a dozen post-it notes had been attached to their computers from various secretaries, clerks and officers within the precinct all asking for information the bunny and fox needed to provide  _as soon as possible_.

Three hours into the mess and they were still making copies of their reports and statements for the various departments, barely ascending their own mountain of paperwork. And with a massive stack left to go, both rabbit and fox wondered just how many days they would be stuck in the office filling it all out.

Nick, for once, didn't complain. It was a wonderful feeling after all the action they had gone through to simply be able to sit next to his rabbit, her constant and pleasant scent floating in clouds around Paperwork Mountain, and just filling out the next paper on the pile. Even if Judy hated the inaction - a sentiment made clear by her good paw tapping against the floor like a jackhammer - Nick was grateful it was keeping her from worsening her injury.

A knock at the door brought their attention to a smiling cheetah officer standing outside their office.

"Excuse me, Officers Hopps and Wilde?" The female cheetah officer's voice nearly cracked as she peeked her head around the doorframe. "Am I interrupting something?" she asked, her eyes darting from Nick to Judy, then back to Nick.

"Ah, Officer Spotters, what can we do for you?" Judy pleasantly asked while turning away from her computer.

"Fangmeyer wanted to let you know that Bogo will be interrogating the bison from the bar in thirty minutes...thought you two would like to be there for it."

"Thank you, Spotters," Judy replied, smiling at Nick who seemed pleased with the news as well.

"Guess that puts a stay on our paperwork for a bit," he sighed, stretching his arms and netting several satisfying pops. Walking over to Judy's chair, he offered her his paw, and the rabbit accepted it as she slid down carefully from her seat.

All under the watchful gaze of their fellow officer.

"So...you two are really engaged?" the cheetah asked with her tail flicking behind her. As the rabbit and fox nodded, Judy gave her a shy smile while Nick pointed several finger guns at her. Adorable as those gestures were, it was the scent the two smaller mammals gave off as they passed her at the door that widened Spotter's eyes.

 _"You've marked each other!_ " she shouted, bringing both paws up to cover her mouth.

"Keep it down!" Judy shushed as Nick's tail bristled behind him.

"Sorry," Officer Spotters said more quietly. "I just heard from Clawhauser that you two had become...you know...and I had to ask for myself."

"It's okay," Judy laughed softly. "You aren't the first one to ask us."

"Nor the last," Nick added.

Spotters nodded, grinning as the couple walked down the hallway, paw in paw.

"They really are so cute together," Spotters giggled as she saw Judy's ears twitch in her direction.

"I heard that!" Judy yelled, and the cheetah jumped and rushed down the hallway in the opposite direction. Nick laughed as they reached the elevators.

"How far away can you actually hear someone, Carrots?" the fox asked as the doors opened and they walked inside.

"Far enough," she shot back, smiling.

The elevator ride was quick in reaching the first floor, and as the machine chimed and the doors opened, they both stepped out, only to jump backwards as they nearly stepped straight into the hulking form of Chief Bogo.

"There you two are…I was wondering when you were coming."

"Good to see you too, Boss," Nick stated with a sloppy salute, which got a roll of the eyes and a friendly elbow to his side from Judy.

"What am I going to do with you two…."

"Could always congratulate us, sir," Nick chimed in with a grin. "Everyone else is doing it, so it must be the popular thing to do today."

Bogo's glare darkened, and Nick's terrified laugh did not brighten the buffalo's demeanor. "Or that could work, Chief! That beautiful gaze of yours will do splendidly."

"Just follow me…" Bogo grunted, shoulders slumping as he shook his head.  _They don't pay me enough to deal with these two..._ he thought, trudging forward towards the rear of the ZPD where the interrogation rooms were located.  _I've already found more gray fur in the past year than all my time as a cop because of them._

"Gray suits you well, sir," he heard from behind him. "Actually is my favorite color if you haven't noticed. Matches a certain bunny I love."

"Shut your mouth Wilde!" Bogo roared, pleased when he heard light laughter behind him. Reaching the two doors leading into the interrogation room, Bogo jabbed his hoof at one of them.

"You two will watch and learn," he demanded. "The jury is still out on whether or not you two are able to become detectives, so stay quiet and  _watch_."

The two nodded, entering the room. When the door shut, Bogo leaned his head against the wall, groaning.  _And it is only barely past noon…._

* * *

Entering the room, both Nick and Judy were happy to see a pair of familiar faces looking back at them. Delgato leaned against the far wall, rubbing his shoulder while rolling the joint until it popped. Fangmeyer was in a chair looking through a pane of glass, staring into the room opposite of them.

"Morning!" Judy replied in a chipper voice, trying to shake the last few minutes from her mind.

"How are you like this without coffee?" Delgato shook his head and held up his paw when he noticed Nick's mouth start to curl into a smile. "Nevermind...I don't want to know."

After exchanging pleasantries, the conversation turned into a frank discussion of the events of the previous night. Delgato's shoulder still smarted, as the bison had managed to knock his shoulder out of its joint, which had to be reset at the scene. The tiger was constantly rolling his shoulder and arm, trying to work out the pain during their conversation. Judy asked if he was okay, to which Delgato replied that he could live with it, knowing they had taken their suspect down.

The pair of detectives had been in meetings the entire morning, giving their statements while warning their fellow officers that it seemed the Internal Affairs mammals conducting the interviews were asking more questions than they should about the "judicious use of force".

"I believe they smell blood in the water," Fangmeyer had warned them earlier before the fox and rabbit went to meeting with the Internal Affairs mammals. "So when you meet with them this afternoon, be cautious in what you say. I managed to overhear one of them stating how nice taking the 'eclectic duo down a notch' would look on his resume."

The two heeded the warning, nodding as the door in the other room opened, revealing two tigers leading a chained bison into the room, followed soon by two large polar bears. The temperature in the room they were watching from plummeted as the bison stared through the mirror, looking directly at the four mammals on the other side as his wrists were chained to the desk.

The two polar bear officers took positions in the corners of the room, tranq guns in their paws, while the two tigers posted up by the door with tasers already out of their holsters as Chief Bogo slammed open the door. He walked gruffly inside before placing his hooves on the table, glaring at the bison.

"This is going to be good," Delgato grinned. "Bogo's interrogations are always the most fun to watch."

"How so?" Judy asked, earning a smile from the feline.

"You'll see," he muttered as the silence in the other room was broken.

"So…" the cape buffalo began in a voice that could freeze Sahara Square. "What was your relationship with the deceased Harold Herdtrotter?"

The bison glared at the buffalo, but otherwise offered no response. His scowl deepening, the Chief of Police set folders down in front of the bison, flipping them open one by one. A glossy photo showed the deceased zebra in stunning color, while the others showed the bison's rather impressive rap sheet.

"Even without the charges of assault against my officers, you're looking at between sixty and eighty years, half of it in solitude."

"That's it?" The bison snorted.

"I could always push for life in solitude," Bogo rejoined. "I'm sure the judge wouldn't mind."

Laughing, the bison shook his head. "You idiot. I meant that  _this_  is all you have on me? You are missing quite of a few of my more,  _exemplary_ moments. Like this one…."

Judy and Nick raised their eyebrows as the bison yanked his arms out from under the table, snapping the pawcuff's links into splinters. The other four officers in the room readied their weapons, only for a blur of black and blue to slam into the bison's head, smashing his face into the table multiple times until Bogo felt no more resistance from the now groaning bison.

The cape buffalo snorted. "I've seen better escape attempts from comatose sloths," the Chief of Police spat. "Now, feel like cooperating?"

"Remind me not to anger our chief so much," Nick stated solemnly. Judy shrugged and smirked. "Oh, you think I would allow him to do something like that to you?"

Nick paused, looking down at his partner. "Something tells me there's a story here…."

"You bet," Fangmeyer said with a grin. "Hopps here is the only one to ever knock the Chief out on sparring day."

Now openly staring at his partner, Nick could only shake his head at the revelation. "You know what, I can see that," he finally mused, looking back into the interrogation room to see the now groggy bison being passed a pen and paper to write out his confession, as well as the mammal volunteering to offer up the names and addresses of his associates. Delgato looked at his watch and smiled. "Only four minutes this time. Not quite a record, but close."

"What's the Chief's record?" Judy asked.

"Two minutes with some weasel," Delgato chuckled. "Poor sap...guy was caught selling bootleg DVDs and was twitching before Chief even came in."

Both Nick and Judy barely contained their snickering as they realized  _who_  the Chief had brought in. They themselves had just arrested him for a tenth time, though let him off as soon as he gave them tips about other, larger crimes happening in the city.

 _Can always use the small fish to catch a bigger one,_  Nick had told her the first time he had convinced her to let him go. She had argued vehemently against it, yet after they had managed to stop a tire slashing ring thanks to Weaselton's tip, as well as someone helpful advice from Nick's friend,a tiger named Antonio who worked in the sanitation department, Judy had reluctantly agreed to what Nick called, 'catch and release'.

"Well, now that the fun's over," Delgato began, "guess it is back to paperwork."

"That's it?" Judy yelled, pointing with both paws open towards the other room. "You had us come all the way here...for  _that_?"

The tiger snickered. "What? Tell me you didn't enjoy watching that bison's face hit that table."

" _I_  enjoyed it," Nick stated in satisfaction while raising his paw.

"Not helping," Judy growled before sighing heavily.

"At least you two don't have to deal with the messy part of the case like us," Fangmeyer said. "We're heading over to the Medical Examiner's office as well as visiting Doctor Aroughcun to go over the crime scene evidence."

"Tell the flabby badger I said hi."

"He's a raccoon, Nick," Fangmeyer grunted. "I thought Judy kept saying you knew everyone."

"Oh, I do," Nick smirked. "Just tell him that for me, alright?"

The wolf sighed, then pointed a paw at the fox. "Fine, but if he chews me out, you owe me coffee for a week."

"Works for me," Nick replied, the smirk never leaving his face.

"Let us know if you find anything," Judy added.

"Will do, Hopps," the wolf said with a nod. The two sets of officers went their different ways, both sets not looking forward to the work ahead of them.

* * *

In his office overlooking the outskirts of the Meadowlands, Steven was silently fuming. When he had told Harold to leave the city, he thought that the zebra would have listened and left immediately, not deliver a massive media circus to Steven's doorstep. The muskrat glared at the skyline of Zootopia in the distance, downing another cup of whiskey before dropping the glass to the floor, where it joined several others. With a huff, he brought the bottle in his other paw to his lips, only to find it empty. The prey mammal sounded more predatory than any savage mammal when he snarled and flung the bottle against the wall, the glass shattering in a brilliant explosion. Anger and fear battled in his gut as he watched the dregs of the very expensive drink drip down the bookcase.

As soon as the media had learned who had been behind the attacks in Zootopia, as well as where he had been employed, all hell had broken loose. The muskrat had to add extra security to the front gates to keep out the throngs of reporters who kept shouting out questions about his murderous Chief of Security. The saying, "Any press is good press," usually was right.

However, in this case, all it did was give him a massive headache and push him to the bottle.

 _What to do, what to do.._.he thought with a grimace. Emails popped into his inbox every few seconds, each one asking the same probing questions.. The demands for a press conference grew louder and more boisterous every passing hour. He had already sent out a letter condemning his friend's actions, vowing to learn why he did it. Steven had also made it painstakingly clear that he would make sure no corporate monies had been used to fund Harold's murderous venture.

_What a crock…_

Even with the announcements, Furzer stock had plummeted 45 percent in the beginning of early morning trading on the Doe Jones, then fell an extra 25 percent before trading was halted for the day. It was a monetary slap in the face that had his investors and shareholders filling his inbox and voicemail with scathing diatribes. Steven couldn't help his tail twitching as he angrily rubbed at the fur between his ears, his pace growing more feverish until he let loose a low growl.

_This needs to end._

Steven knew that eventually,  _someone_  would start asking the right questions and go snooping in all the wrong places. He realized he had left a paper-trail; a small one at that, but still something that could be suspicious enough to earn him a search warrant. That was the  _last_  thing he needed. He hadn't even left his office since the night before, the irate voicemail from his wife persuading him that he wouldn't even be welcomed on the couch. His beady, narrowed eyes glanced again at the open drawer of his desk.

His snarl bounced off the window as he crossed the room and plopped into his chair. With a wicked grin, he carefully withdrew the metal object; his grin grew more sadistic each time he ran his paw over the polished metal. A shiver crept down his spine as he caressed the last remaining nighthowler pistol he had made. He examined the device with a malevolent glee that would have caused even Bellwether to turn away in fear.

It was a specially crafted weapon, one built to his own exacting specifications. His company had devised the original nighthowler antidote and thus had access to the weapon that could fire the compound. With a few modifications, it had become much more than a simple air pistol and much... _much_  more lethal. The larger air compression chamber allowed the ammo to be propelled at much greater velocity than before. It could also launch heavier ammunition, like the four lead balls currently in the chamber of the weapon. Opening the chamber, he smiled at his invention. He had tried using steel ball bearings but had mixed results as the lighter material resulted in several unsatisfactory misfires and a kickback that nearly scored him a black eye.

 _But these…._ With a reverence that would have sickened any pious mammal, he tenderly picked up one of the balls in his paw. It had been crudely fashioned during the midnight hours at the lab as he pilfered the necessary equipment in Laboratory Two, but he finally had what he wanted in case his plan fell through. Steven was  _so close_  to getting his revenge against that blasted fox and rabbit. His plane tickets, purchased with cash, sat within the drawer, alongside his passport and several new credit cards.

The chamber closed with a hiss and a pop as he loaded the round he had picked up, placing the live weapon into his desk drawer next to his Plan A: two small bags of light blue powder, one labeled 'vulpis vulpis', the other, 'oryctolagus cuniculus'.

 _Time to set my revenge in motion..._ he thought to himself, giggling madly as he rubbed his paws together.

Touching his computer screen, he quickly searched through emails until one brought a sickening smile to his muzzle. With Harold offering spectacular failure after failure, Steven decided if he wanted things done right, he'd need to do them himself.

_And this pathetic pansy will do perfectly…._

He quickly dialed the numbers from the email into his phone, waiting several rings before hearing a voice on the other end.

_"Jack Pawson, ZNN. Who is this?"_

"Jack," Steven began, the sinister smile spreading as he leaned back in the chair that was much too big for his small frame. "I heard you have an upcoming interview with some mutual friends of ours. I have a proposition to discuss with you…."

 


	40. The Missing Links

 

"We're missing something...something big…" Judy muttered, tapping her foot against the floor. "I can just feel it…"

The past two days had gone by in a blur, which wasn't a problem to the bunny who always preferred life moving at a faster pace., but this time it felt different. Her and Nick's work was getting done, their paperwork from the bar fight was almost complete, though it had taken much longer than Bogo had cared for it to. IA had come back stating no wrongdoing was performed by either of them, and IA even gave Carol a clean slate for her help at the Cloven Hoof. Harold was gone, his house raided again with a secret stash of night howlers and more weapons found precisely where Nick said they would be. The hospital said both Gideon and Wolford would make full recoveries, and best of all, Chief Bogo had pulled her and Nick aside stating he had just put in their paperwork for them to be promoted to detectives.

_Why do I feel so… empty then?_

_Maybe because you aren't living under the same roof as foxy over there..._ her brain reminded her. Judy shook the thought out of her head, trying to focus on the computer screen in front of her and not the handsome tod currently swishing his tail beside her. And  _especially_  not on that goofy grin he currently wore that she wanted to kiss off of his face.

 _Focus Judy..._ she reminded herself, realizing that her gaze had wavered back to her partner. Shifting it back to her screen, which currently held the financial statements of the expired zebra, Judy again tried to put her mind on the numbers and words filling the page. After only a few moments, however, her gaze slowly trailed back to her partner, his paws flying over his keyboard as he busily typed out another form.

"Like what you see, Carrots? As I keep noticing you coming back for more."

Judy jumped in her seat, ears springing up as she quickly turned back to her own computer, grumbling about 'dumb foxes' as her ears burned. "And if I did?" she finally answered back, trying to keep her eyes on her screen. Suddenly, her cubicle began to rotate, as her chair was spun towards Nick. His emerald eyes stared in her own, the grin she adored so much manifesting itself.

"Then that would make two of us."

Judy pushed his muzzle away as Nick laughed. "Come on, let's get a pick-me-up . It's past one and we haven't taken a lunch break yet. Plus, I need another coffee." Nick waggled his empty mug as he pushed off his chair, letting it slide across the room until it hit the wall.

"But Nick," Judy reasoned, "we still have all this work to do on the case and I know we are missing  _something…_ "

Nick paused, staring into the pleading eyes of his partner. Finally after a few moments, he sighed, letting down his shoulders as his stomach made itself known. Eyeing his mug that was devoid of the amber liquid of life, he put up a single finger. "I'll be back in one minute then and we can talk about this."

Judy nodded as the fox left their office space, turning right to head towards the cafeteria and vending machines. Returning her gaze to the computer, she drummed her fingers against her desk.

 _There has gotta be something here_...the doe thought, scrolling through the seemingly endless numbers popping up continuously on screen.

Bank statements, purchases...everything had been compiled together and the rabbit was hoping that some sort of pattern would emerge. Switching the document into an editable format, she began highlighting the various payments and purchases in different colors. Green for deposits into his account, orange for purchases, blue for transfers, and finally a light grey for outliers...and before long the entire page had been turned into a veritable playground of colors.

Groaning, Judy pushed herself back into her seat. "I thought this would make it easier…"

"It was a good idea…" she heard from above her. She had been so engrossed in her work, she hadn't heard the light padding footfalls of her partner returning, though now felt him as he leaned over the top of her seat, his muzzle between her ears. "Your drawings of us do look a bit cubist for my tastes though."

"What?" Judy asked, looking back at the document. It only took her a moment to spy what Nick had pointed out. The fox laughed as Judy slumped into her seat, groaning as she spotted which colors she had used and how they seemed to match the pair of officers themselves.

"You really do have us on your mind," Nick cajoled, lifting his muzzle and arms from the chair before rubbing her ears affectionately. Setting his now steaming full cup of coffee on his desk, he plopped into his seat, using his feet to roll himself forward as he tossed a granola bar towards his partner. Catching it, she offered him a quick 'thank you' before biting into it.

"So," Nick began, taking a large bite out of his own bugga protein bar. "What's your theory?"

"I'm not sure," Judy proclaimed, turning back to her computer. "Harold's financial history has a lot of strange items in it that haven't been accounted for during the raids on his apartment. That and several of the deposits match up with the day before either we were attacked, or others were like Dr Shepherd." Leaning back into her seat, she glanced over at Nick. "I know there is a connection, but as none of the deposits come from other accounts, I can't trace them at all."

"Are they online deposits?" Nick asked, as Judy scrolled through the list again. She shook her head.

"A general mix," the rabbit replied, pointing out to several dates and locations. "Some took place at the Lemmings Brothers Bank, some at Furst National while the majority were done online." Sitting back in her seat, she looked over at Nick. "I've thought about looking through the traffic cam database to follow Harold throughout the city to see if I could pick up any pattern but…"

"That would take forever Carrots, and I'm not about to waste several weeks following pictures of a moody zebra walking around. You see, I have a better idea."

Judy's ears perked up. "Oh?"

"I believe that the ZPD has a resident tech whiz that could do that job much easier than either of us could and that we could borrow for a while."

The bunny's ears shot up. "Skippel?"

"Bingo," the fox replied, giving her a quick finger gun salute. "If anyone knows how to work those traffic cams, that bunny could."

Judy's smile nearly melted Nick's heart. About a year after Judy had been hired onto the ZPD, they opened a position of technology specialist up to the ZPD's second bunny officer, Karen Skippel. Though never qualified as a duty officer, she specialized in tracing anything that ever happened on a computer. Nick and Judy had relied on her help a few times before, and Judy looked forward to working with her again.

"Great, give her a call!" Judy chirped, only to notice Nick's grin twitch slightly.

"I...think that would be best left to you, as I think she likes you a bit better…"

Rolling her eyes, Judy grabbed her phone and quickly dialed Skippel's number by memory. The conversation was abrupt, as it always was with the technology guru, but after a bit of pleading and a promise to put in a request to Bogo for new computers for her, the other bunny agreed to sort through the cameras on their behalf.

"Well that saves a few days of work for us," Nick stated merrily as he took a sip of his coffee. "What's the next item on the docket that we can pass off to someone else, hmm?"

Judy chuckled, "We can't get out of all of our work  _that_  easily, Slick." Her laughter slowed as a thought caught in her mind. "...get out of work…"

"Now you're speaking my language," Nick hummed.

"Not what I meant, Slick," Judy retorted, her paw resting on her chin. "Work is the common facet of this entire case."

Nick paused, letting Judy's statement sink in for a moment. Everything did seem to be linked back to work. Harold had gotten his materials from Furzer labs, the stolen credit card, the serums...all of it had come from work.

"I think we'll need to head back to Furzer at some point," Nick proclaimed. "Maybe it's my hustler sense tingling, but, there is no way that Harold was the only one involved considering how much work would've been required of him to get away with everything he did." Nick's eyes fell upon his partner while he frowned. "Though we'll need something concrete to take to Bogo, if we want to get a warrant to search the Furzer connection further."

"Agreed," Judy lamented. "Though I think we should pass that along to Delgato this time."

"What?" Nick gasped. "My Carrots  _doesn't_ want to tackle a case all by herself again?" Nick placed a paw over his heart while gently thumping his ear with his other paw. "Nope, hearing's good. Heart's still beating." He grinned as he leaned nearer to Judy, resting his elbow on her desk. "Unless something has happened to my cute little bunny. Are you sure that you're Judy-oof!"

Judy playfully grabbed Nick's tie. "Nope," she chirped. "Still the same rabbit you know and love. Just want to get this boot off faster, and running around a building that big won't help."

"Someone going stir-crazy in the office?" Nick laughed, his muzzle inching forward. "I know a cure for that."

"Oh do you?" Judy asked, her eyelids lowering as she inched forward herself. "And what would that be?"

Their muzzles were so close to each other that Judy took a fleeting look down at Nick's lips. It was the sign Nick was looking for as he grinned, pulled away, and sat up.

"Lunch of course," the fox replied.

The look of shock that came across Judy's face was replaced quickly by one of irritation.

"Nicholas Piberious Wilde!" she exclaimed. Jumping off her chair, she quickly hobbled after her partner who sprinted for the door, laughing his head off.

* * *

"We really need to go to that place more often, Nick. That cucumber and carrot salad was delicious!"

"Glad you liked it, Fluff."

The two officers walked back into Precinct 1 after getting a quick lunch over at the 10-7 Bar and Grill nearby. As only emergency personnel were allowed into the establishment, it made for an easy pitstop to grab a quick bite and avoid any long lines at other diners. Though 'quick' wasn't the best of terms once Trisha, a flirtly brown rabbit who had fast become friends with the pair, saw Judy and Nick walk in. What would have been a quick in and out turned into an hour of the two bunnies chatting, giggling, and whispering in hushed voices with each other.

It was always a strange sight for Nick to see Judy go from being on duty to transforming into a gossipy teenage bunny, not that he would ever call her that.

 _Who knew..._ Nick thought as he placed the last mozzarella stick daintily into his mouth, humming with pleasure as he chewed. A giggle and sigh combo from Judy brought him from his revery.

"Again, if you only looked at me like you do your food sometimes," the rabbit laughed. Nick joined in as they walked past the receptionist area, the cheetah behind the desk quickly finishing his phone call before they passed.

Clawhauser waved the pair towards his desk. "Officer Hopps! Officer Wilde! Over here!"

Obliging the larger mammal, the two strolled over to the front desk. Clawhauser looked nervous as they approached, his eyes giving them pause as to the gravity of the conversation to follow.

"What is it, big guy?" Nick asked for the pair, leaning against the desk and Judy jumping up to have a better view.

"It's about your interview with ZNN," the cheetah began.

Eyes widened as the fox and bunny looked at each other. Clawhauser was never so blunt, and both had been expecting at least five minutes of praising Gazelle before actually finding out what was happening...

"Important enough for you not to mention Gazelle first?" Nick asked. "What's going on with it? Pawson back out?"

"No, the opposite is true. The date has been moved ahead, by a lot! Like, tomorrow, a lot!"

"What?" Judy yelled, startling the cheetah. "Why would they push it up so far and without advanced notice?"

"I don't know," Clawhauser mumbled. "I was on the line with Chief right now and he seemed rather angry about it. You might want to talk to him soon."

Nodding, the rabbit and fox quickly vacated the front lobby, taking the elevator to the fourth floor and Bogo's office. They only had to knock twice before Bogo commanded them to enter. Clawhauser's assertion about his demeanor was spot on, as Chief Bogo was furious about the unannounced interview being pushed up. As well as another surprise that floored the two officers.

"It's at Furzer?" they both asked together before giving each other worried filled looks.

Bogo snorted. "ZNN said that it would bring more publicity to the closure of the recent case. And since you two were the ones who solved the Night Howler Conspiracy case, while Furzer was the company that developed the serum to cure the afflicted mammals, Pawson convinced his higher ups that it would make a fine PR move for everyone involved to have it take place there."

"Just when I was starting to re-like the buck..." Nick grumbled.

"So what are we supposed to do to prepare if it's tomorrow night?" Judy asked. If this is what they had to do, she would accept it and work around it. They still had a lot to finish regarding the case, as well as leads to follow up, but those were being handled by others like Skippel at the moment.

"I'm glad you asked," Bogo replied. "You two will be spending the majority of tomorrow getting ready for the interview…"

"Huh?" exclaimed both rabbit and fox. They looked at each other, puzzled by the statement. With a heavy and annoyed sigh, Bogo began explaining how the interview would take place and why it would take all day. It surprised Judy with just how much behind the scenes work was going into crafting this story, while Nick commented smarmily on how ' _those in the media love a good show'._

Their entire day was now gone. At eight in the morning they would report to the ZPD's Public Relations Counselor to be dressed and groomed for the event, while being told  _exactly_  what they could and could not disclose to the public. At noon they would arrive at Furzer and begin a tour of part of the facility, in particular the laboratories where the serum had been developed, a section of which would be filmed as part of the special alongside the interview. 2 PM would bring a luncheon, courtesy of Furzer, then directly following the meal would be a concluding tour of the rest of the facility before the interview even began.

The interview itself would come directly after this, and just for a short, hour long tv special, they were told it could take up to four hours to film the entire segment.

The two left Bogo's office, the door slamming behind them.

"That wasn't the news I wanted to hear," Judy stated glumly.

"When  _is_  the news enjoyable nowadays?" Nick replied, placing a paw on Judy's shoulder. "Come on, this just means we need to finish up as much as possible today while we can, before Chief decides to give us more bad news."

The next few hours of their shift flew by in a whirlwind of activity. Managing to snag Delgato and Fangmeyer, the pair corroborated all their notes and findings together about the case. Both Judy and Nick were relieved to find that neither the tiger nor the wolf thought the case was finished and had been looking at following leads themselves about where the funding for everything came from, as well as how it all went undiscovered for so long. However, with the interview taking up the entirety of the following day, they would have to wait on doing a more in depth search until the following shift.

Just as they were about to finish for the day, Judy's phone rang. As she went to pick it up, a large grin split her face.

"Nick, come over here!" she said with a grin. "It's Jenna!"

"You'll have to be more specific on who  _Jenna_  is, Carrots," Nick chuckled. "You probably have five siblings by that name by now."

Rolling her eyes, Judy again motioned for him to come over as she pressed the answer button. Bringing his chair over next to hers, he waited for her to press the answer button. When she did, a black and white bunny appeared on screen, alongside another recognizable face.

"Wolfie!" Nick stated with a grin. "How ya doing, bud? Enjoying the hospital food?"

"Don't remind me," Wolford groaned, though slightly hidden by his bemused chuckles. "How are you two holding up?" The wolf's eyes lowered slightly as his grin broadened. "I've heard from Clawhauser that there is something I ought to know about your relationship?"

Nick huffed, folding his arms across his chest.  _Is there anything that cheetah can keep quiet about?_  he wondered. "Oh," the fox replied, looking over at Judy. "Has something changed with us?" His face quickly drew a horrified expression as he gasped. "Please don't tell me you left me for that carrot soufflé from the 10-7!"

Judy grinned. "I meant to tell you earlier, Slick, but I didn't want to ruin the... _souprise._ "

Nick and Judy could hear Jenna's laughter through the phone. "Nick, what type of influence have you had on my sister?"

"Only the worst," Wolford offered, laughing until a series of coughs halted them. Jenna quickly placed her paw over Wolford's chest in a tender gesture, the screen in her other paw tilting so that they saw the other bed and the fox patient in it.

Well, at least the backside of said fox.

"Jenna!" Judy shouted. "Move the phone!" The rabbit doe covered her eyes as Nick frowned, suddenly finding the desk they were sitting in front of to be quite interesting. The rabbit in the picture looked behind her.

"Ooh sweet maple syrup!" Jenna gasped as the video on the phone shook and tumbled until it went dark. Both Nick and Judy could hear Jenna yelling  _something._  Nick turned to Judy and shrugged. Finally, the phone screen lit up, revealing a nervously laughing Jenna.

"Sorry about that," the black and white colored doe replied. "Dropped the phone while trying to get Gideon a bit more presentable." Turning the camera, Jenna showed a somewhat sheepish looking Gideon Grey waving at them before the screen turned back to the rabbit. "So, I have some good news for you!"

"We heard earlier," Judy replied, beaming a smile. "Looks like our canine friends are going to both be fit as a fiddle soon."

"Yep!" Jenna chirped, grinning back as her paw reached out to Wolford's. "Though Wolfie here is going to have some  _sexy_  looking scars, aren't you?" The mentioned wolf rolled his eyes, though he also grinned like the lovesick puppy both Nick and Judy knew he was.

Judy's smile got even brighter. "That's great news!" Behind Judy, Nick gave the wolf a thumbs up and wink. "I also see that Gideon is up and about. How long has he been awake?"

Jenna's smile waned just a bit. "Only a few hours. I had the hospital call you as soon as he was awake. Though there are still some lingering effects from the drug in his system." When Jenna saw Judy's worried look and Nick's crestfallen one, she was quick to wave a paw in front of the screen.

"Oh, no, no, no, no...nothing bad. I assure you that," Jenna nervously rattled off. "No violent behavior or mood swings. Just, he is having a hard time speaking at the moment. Most sentences are very brief and sometimes punctuated by yips and barks. The doctors are saying it is the remedial effects from the serum. Since this is an untested antidote for this new strain, it  _might_  end up having unforeseen consequences."

"Oh…" Judy's ears fell at the news. She was aware without looking behind her that Nick had taken the news even worse than she had. Judy knew Nick still felt responsible for the other fox being in the hospital, no matter how much she told him otherwise, and was hoping the news from earlier would have buoyed his spirits. Turning around, she saw that now it had done the opposite.

"Nick, it isn't your fault," the grey rabbit cooed softly, placing her free paw in one of his one. She squeezed his paw tightly, grateful to feel him squeeze back alongside sending her a solemn smile.

"That's right, Nick," Jenna spoke through the phone. "If anything, you saved his life. Otherwise none of us would have known about the tumor."

"Is that Mr Wilde?" _*Yip* "And_ Miss Judy?"

Both fox and bunny looked at the screen when they heard the voice behind Judy's sister. Jenna turned. "Yes, Gideon. It's Officer Wilde and Judy."

Through the phone, they could see a red paw appear on the screen from behind Wolford. Again, the screen went on a journey across the room as Jenna hopped out of her seat and strolled over to what they assumed was Gideon's recovery bed. This time, instead of Jenna's smiling face, they were greeted by a lazy smile from the pudgy baker.

He looked thinner than usual, no doubt the after-effects of the induced coma and surgery. His normally fluffy hair was matted against his ears, while his usual kind, blue eyes held only a dull luster.

"Ho...how you, Judy. Ni...ni…" the comment was cut off by a low whine from the fox, who didn't seem to notice he had made the sound.

"We're doing great," Judy sniffled. Seeing, and hearing, her friend in this condition was more than painful to her. "How about yourself Gideon?"

"I...I'm doing-" he let loose a happy sounding bark, "-just fine. Th-thank you."

At seeing the bunny next to him wiping at her eyes with her paw, Nick wrapped both of his arms around Judy, hoping that what he was about to do would calm her. Startled, she felt herself rising off her own seat, before placed gently, and snugly, onto Nick's lap. The fox's arms wrapped around her, enveloping her in a soothing blanket of warmth as a low rumble came from deep within his chest.

The effect was instantaneous. The combination of the soothing sound coming from Nick, accompanied by the protection she felt with his embrace calmed her immediately. Judy let out a low sigh of contentment, relaxing into his touch as her free paw not holding the phone found one of his and gripped it tenderly.

 _Thank you Nick..._ Judy thought.  _You always know how to help me._

Gideon himself seemed to brighten up at the change on screen, panting slightly while they heard a soft *whup whup whup* from offscreen. Most likely his tail, Judy assumed.

"Ni-Nick?"

"Yeah, buddy?" the fox replied, letting his muzzle rest between Judy's ears.

"T...tt...thank you. Fo-for saving me."

Silence entered the room as Judy felt Nick tense behind her. With how close they were, she was able to hear the softest of sniffles come from her fox.

"You're welcome Gid," he finally managed to reply, his words trembling slightly.

"Okay, that's enough for now, Gideon." Jenna's face reappeared on the screen, her expression a bit sadder than before, though her smile shined brightly through it all. "He still needs his rest to fully recover, but the doctors felt that placing him in a room with another canine would help his recovery." She jerked her head towards Wolford. "So it appears he got stuck with this guy for a while."

"How terrible," Nick chuckled, earning a glare from Jenna.

"Hey, no insulting my Wolfie, Nick," Jenna said with a smirk. "You know us Hopps does. Don't make me come down there to protect my canine."

Nick chuckled. "You'll have to make it through my own Hopps," he laughed as he tickled Judy's side. "You'll protect me, right Judy?"

Judy laughed. "You'll be on your own, Slick," she replied, earning a triumphant grin from her sister. "If anything I'll be helping her find you."

Nick sniffed. "And here I thought you loved me," he stated solemnly. "After all the times I've saved you…"

"I think I'm still ahead in that contest," Judy countered with a quick laugh. Turning her head, she leaned up and placed a kiss under his muzzle. "What is it, ten times I've saved your life and four for you?"

"It's seven," Nick huffed, though Judy could feel the rumbling beginnings of a laugh starting in his chest as he looked away and grumbled. "You always forget about the Skunk parade and the Outback Island Bridge incidents."

A warm laugh came through the phone, ringing in their ears. The video turned to Wolford who gave them a quick howl. "Get a room you two," he cackled, earning an eye roll from Judy.

"We have one," Nick shot back, his paws suddenly closing tighter around Judy as he let loose another low rumble from his chest. He began peppering Judy's head and neck with kisses, the doe laughing as she struggled to get away. The wolf in the video made gagging noises while Jenna simply let out an irritated huff.

"Alright, I know when to end a call," Jenna supplied, grinning as she saw Nick's ears shoot up and a devious smile cross the fox's face. "Anyways, just wanted to give you an update."

"Thanks Jenna," Judy replied, fending off another kiss from Nick with a swat of her paw.

"You're welcome!" Jenna chirped. In a flash, Jenna disappeared, replaced by a selfie of Nick and Judy smiling up from the screen.

"At least they are recovering quickly," Judy sighed in relief as Nick halted his assault of kisses.

"Mmhmm," Nick grunted.

"Hopefully they'll be out of there soon," the rabbit continued. "Maybe we should visit them tonight before our interview?"

"Hmmm."

"Yeah, you're right. Probably should just finish our reports and check back in with Delgato and Fangmeyer to see if any of our leads have panned out."

"Mhmm."

"Nick?"

"Hmm?"

"Knock it off or I'll have to kiss you into a real wordless stupor."

Nick smiled widely as Judy turned around in her chair, her sly grin mirroring his own.

_"Hmmmmm."_

* * *

Phil couldn't help but stare at his workstation in a daze. So much had changed in so little time. He knew it was late, but didn't quite know the exact time. All the other scientists had already gone home for the day if that was any indication. Only the ticking of a wall clock provided him any noise besides his own, labored breathing.

"What am I going to do," he mumbled, staring at his computer screen. It currently was showing a video from outside the bar Steven had told him to visit and pass along that note to Harold. He may not have been the smartest mammal, but he sure could figure out how to put two and two together.

He had just been involved in whatever event had ended up killing his old friend Harold.

 _What was in that note..._ the hippo wondered, fidgeting in his chair. It was at that point his stomach made its displeasure with him known.

"Guess I should probably eat something at least…" he muttered. Casting one last glance at the muted video, he turned his computer off and packed up for the night. The thought of whatever might have been in the note was slowly being pushed away by the near constant growling of his stomach.

"Maybe the cafeteria has a bite to eat?" The hippo paused at a T-intersection in the hallway. One way would lead him to home, where his leftover alfalfa and lettuce pizza was waiting for him, while down the the other he might find something that wasn't  _nearly_  as stale as the four day old leftovers were.

The noise coming from his gut caused him to take the latter path. Never could it be said of him that he didn't follow his stomach. Making his way as quickly as he could to the cafeteria, he was grateful when a delicious smell entered his nostrils as he neared the double doors.

"That smells  _heavenly,"_  he gushed, taking in a deep whiff of the smell. His mouth already watering, Phil pushed open the doors in a hurry, wondering what tastes lay in store for him. The thought of how fortunate he was crossed his mind as he wandered over to the self service line, hoping for a tasty treat when he heard voices coming from the kitchen.

"I already told you, these spices were specifically demanded by both officers. They  _need_  to be in their dishes tomorrow or else the whole interview will be ruined!"

 _Is that...Steven?_  The hippo arched an eyebrow while starting towards the open kitchen doors. Light poured out of the room, and as he drew closer the voices became clearer.

"Look, sir," a rather elegant sounding voice decried, "tonight iz not the night for me to be keeping any'zing laying around. You'll simply have to come back in ze morning. Besides, I'm not even preparing 'le dishes until an hour before zey arrive."

"Confound it Pierre!" Phil heard a loud crack sound, and could only wonder at its origin. "I paid good money to have this interview happen here to get over the bad press of that screw up of a security guard I had. I do  _not_  need this whole luncheon going south because  _you_  can't handle a special request from the mammals  _invited_ here!"

A loud huff filled the air.

"I am sorry, sir, but tonight I can't do any'zing about it. The dishes...zey would be horrible if prepared now and I will not destroy such masterpieces I have planned."

Phil could positively hear Steven's teeth grinding from outside the door. " _Fine..._ I'll be back in the morning, and you  _better_  add these to the dishes by then, or else you'll be searching the classified for a new job faster than you can fake that accent!"

The sound of angry pawfalls came closer as a yell followed the muskrat out.

"It iz not fake! I am from Pawris!" The sound of heavy hoof-falls echoed through the kitchen before a door slammed.

"Yeah, yeah. Tell it to immigration you clutzy moose."

Steven's voice was much closer now, and before Phil could move a single step, the smaller mammal collided with the hippo, sending the muskrat sprawling to the ground and two baggies of blue powder gliding across the spotless tiled floor.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, sir," Phil blubbered, offering a hoof to his boss to help him up. "I came here for some food but-"

"Can it you twit!" Steven growled, rubbing his forehead. His eyes widened in shock before his paws flew to his coat. "Where are they!" he shouted, pawing the clothing frantically.

Both mammals began looking around before Phil spotted two bags behind his boss. He trudged over to them, picking them up while examining the contents. "Are these them?" Phil asked, peering through the clear baggies at his boss. "They look familiar."

Phil saw his boss' eyes widen through the clear plastic, first in shock, then lower slowly in rage. Phil took a step backwards as Steven advanced.

"Give me those!" the small mammal snarled, grasping at the bags in Phil's hooves.

"Are these the special spices for the interview tomorrow?" Phil asked before realizing he was speaking. His eyes widened as everything seemed to freeze in the room.

It was nearly a minute before either spoke again.

" _What_ did you hear, Phil?"

"Nothing," Phil stammered, bringing his hooves together as the baggies jostled in them.

" _Phil._ " Steven spoke the hippo's name with such a degree of malice that it caused the larger mammal's knees to quiver. "Give me...those bags... _now."_

"Yes. Of course. Here you go sir!" Phil blurted, rapidly passing the bags along to his boss. Snatching them from the outstretched hooves, the muskrat examined the bags for any tears or rips before heaving a sigh of relief. It was then that Steven did the most puzzling thing.

He smiled at the bags and whispered something that caused a ripple of panic to spread throughout the hippo's mind.

 _"_ Can't have those filthy officers getting out of this alive tomorrow, can we…"

Panic flooded through the hippo.  _Did he just...was that a...threat?_  Phil took a step backwards, his eyes darting towards the door to the cafeteria. His stomach could wait, as it quickly took second fiddle to his brain telling him to flee and get as far away from the smaller mammal as possible. He  _knew_  what was in those bags now.

"Those...those are, night howlers."

He had begun working at the labs while the cure to the night howler serum was being made, and the familiarity with the coloration of the poison had him trembling as he noticed all the similarities.

"Get out." The statement came as barely above a whisper, causing the hippo to pause as he leaned forward.

"What was that?" Phil blubbered weakly.

"I said  _get out!"_  Steven roared. "Leave! Pack your bags! You're through! Fired! Now  _out!"_

"Sir, please. Don't do it," Phil pleaded. "I don't know why you'd want to hurt those nice officers so much. They are so friendly and...and…" the hippo took a cautious step forward, only to halt when Steven pulled an item from his pocket. Phil's eyes shrunk into pinpricks.

"Is that a…" Phil gulped. Steven pulled back on top of the weapon, a satisfying ' _whoosh'_  signalling the chamber had been loaded.

"It's worse," Steven growled. "And since I doubt you'll be able to keep your trap shut, I'm just going to have to fix that. Now walk!"

Steven motioned the gun in his paw towards the door. The hippo paced towards the door, opening it with trembling hooves as Steven directed him through the empty corridors of the pharmaceutical plant. Several minutes passed before they arrived at a rarely used restroom in a far corner of the building.

"Get in there," Steven growled, flicking the gun at the door. Nodding, the hippo walked into the room, nervously wondering what his boss was going to do to him.

"Please sir," Phil began, tears trickling down his cheek. "I don't want to go savage."

"Can it!"

Phil complied with a trembling nod as Steven ordered him towards a door at the far end of the restroom.

"Now open it."

Nodding again, Phil opened the door, revealing a janitor's closet that seemed to have seen far better days.

"Get in."

Openly sniffling now, Phil walked into the cramped quarters, a mop handle jabbing into his side as he stared down the barrel of the gun in Steven's paw.

"Now, you are going to stay in here, all quiet like and not make a peep, got it?"

"I'm sorry sir," Phil blubbered. "I promise I'm not gonna tell anyone I heard anything.."

Phil watched as the muskrat leered at him. "Oh, don't worry. You won't."

The door to the janitor's closet slammed shut, the sound of a key turning in the lock reaching Phil's ears. Left to himself, Phil began to openly cry as his back slid down the wall opposite of the door, his wails reaching the muskrat outside the door. Phil ignored the pain as he accidentally sat upon some sort of glass container, the object shattering as his weight flattened it instantly. Simply rolling into a ball, the large mammal wept.

 _Stupid hippo..._ Steven thought, glaring at the door.  _What am I going to do with him now? I can't kill him. The shot would bring security. Besides, I need those for the blasted fox and rabbit as a backup in case..._  Looking at the door again, a devilish smile formed across his muzzle.

It was a quick trip for the owner of Furzer Pharmaceuticals to find the next closest restroom and use his master key to grab a few needed items from it, then return in a rush to the bathroom he had locked Phil inside of. Placing the yellow cones around the door, Steven smiled in satisfaction as he placed the final touch upon the door handle, a sign simply reading, "Bathroom Closed".

Steven walked away from the door, satisfied with his work as he made his way to his office. "Nobody is going to stop me now." Looking down at his watch and seeing it was nearly midnight, the rodent smiled.

"Fifteen hours." he whispered gleefully. "It's the end of the fox as I know it," he half sung to a favorite tune of his. "And that bun as well!"

He began to laugh, the sound becoming louder and louder until it turned into a dark bout of cackling laughter filling the empty corridors. The sound of a mammal descending merrily into madness as he screamed in joy.

" _Fifteen Hours until I'm free!"_

 


	41. Lives Cut Short

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it. The climax of the story and the longest chapter yet! Special thanks to aemx and AngloFalcon for editing this behemoth of a chapter!

 

* * *

**_5:30am - Judy's apartment_ **

Judy awoke to the buzzing of her alarm and in typical fashion turned it off within seconds. Her feet hit the floor a moment later. With a quick stretch of her arms and legs, as well as a few early morning exercises to ready her for the day, the bunny walked towards her closet.

 _Today is going to be a good day_...she thought cheerfully. Her mood dampened almost immediately as she looked around her cramped apartment which Nick lovingly called "The Shoebox".

 _Nick_...just thinking of him made the quiet morning routine she once loved feel somewhat bleak in comparison to the way she would wake up at the safehouse or in Bunnyburrow. Leaping out of her bed, she loved to race across to Nick's room, sometimes armed with a pillow, and awaken the fox in a 'gentle and caring' fashion. Looking around now at the empty space while realizing that Nick  _wasn't_  across the hall left a void in her morning routine.

_It's just not the same to wake up without Nick._

She remembered the days at the safe house or in Bunnyburrow with a growing fondness. The ability to wake up and see her partner just moments later in the next room over. His appearance always brought a smile to her face. The way his fur was messed up after he dragged himself out of bed after she woke him, the adorable way he yawned and his tongue would curl slightly which always caused her to giggle. Her favorite, though, was seeing that lazy, half asleep smile of his when he saw her staring back at him.

A shiver ran up Judy's spine as she thought of that look.  _I really want to wake up to that look again and again..._ she thought fondly. With that thought in mind, and humming to herself, she went back to her morning routine, cleaning herself up in preparation for the big interview and tour today,  _with_  Nick.

After a quick shower, followed by a thorough brushing of her fur, she put on her duty uniform and smiled into her small mirror. After a quick polish of her badge, as well as another fleeting, dreamy thought of how Nick looked in his own uniform, Judy bounded out of her apartment, her ears a bit warmer than usual as she darted out to greet the day.

* * *

**_6:30am - Nick's apartment_ **

If Judy's idea for a great morning was rising to greet the day with a smile, Nick's was the polar opposite. A loud banging on his door confirmed the fox's worst fears about what time it was.

"Nick! Nick, come on, wake up! We can't be late today!"

The cheerful yelling from outside his door brought a low grumble from the fox, who quickly plunged a pillow over his ears. Satisfied when the yelling stopped, he slowly wandered back into the realm of sleep. Was it that he simply wasn't excited to see his bubbly bunny partner in the morning?

No, no it was not. There was nothing he cherished more at the moment than being Judy's partner, now in more than just one sense of the word. Seeing her bright eyed optimism and fluffy tail in the morning, -  _especially_ that bushy tail of hers in the morning - ranked among the highlights of his day.

On the other paw, waking up before the sun had even decided to peak over the eastern hills was something he never looked forward to.

Going back to sleep, he was oblivious to the sound of a key turning in his door, _as well_  as the soft 'harumph' his partner made at finding him in still in bed.

The sound of water running in his tiny kitchen didn't even phase his dreams of him and Judy chasing Duke Weaselton throughout Bogo's office, causing the dream Bogo to shoot steam from his ears.

The sound of a bunny walking towards him with a sloshing cooking pot of icy cold water was overridden by the sweet dreams of walking paw in paw with Judy through a sunny meadow. Her innocent smile causing him to smile in his slumber.

"Last chance Nick!" Judy warned, swirling the pot next to his bed, a few drips trickling over the side and onto the floor.

"Just one more minute with Judy…" Nick grumbled, pulling his pillow from over his ears and wrapping it in his arms. The  _real_  Judy scoffed loudly, about to pour the water over his head when she saw Nick gently kiss the pillow.

"I love you Judy…" he murmured in between kisses. "I love you...I love you...marry me…"

Judy felt her ears beginning to burn, in what was becoming an all too increasing trait while spending time around her partner. This time due to the growingly uncomfortable display in front of her as Nick slowing began petting the top of the pillow.

"Who's my cute little bunny?" Nick cooed sleepily.

Judy's ears went rigid.

"Alright, that's enough," she growled, forcefully dumping the contents of the cooking pot over the top of Nick's head.

The fox was up in a start, yelping in panic as the freezing cold water doused him completely. His bedsheets went flying as he leapt backwards, falling off the backside of the bed. Slightly bewildered and taking a moment to wake, even after such an eventful alarm clock, he barely registered anything other than the raucous laughter coming from his partner.

Grumbling, he pushed himself off the floor, only to catch sight of his partner doubled over in laughter.

"Laugh it up, Fuzzball," Nick grumbled. A smirk came over his own lips as he trundled his way over to Judy's side, tripping slightly over his soaked sheets. "Though I think if there is any kind of way to greet me in the morning, it should be with a hug."

"A what?" Judy asked, wiping a tear from her eye. A small plop of water dripping onto her cheek caused her to look up, only for her gaze to be filled with a sopping wet fox with arms wide open.

"You know you want it!" Nick grinned, and before Judy could even get to her feet to bound away, Nick was upon her. Wrapping her up in his arms, he heard her gasp in shock at the sudden coldness gripping her. Try as she might, squirming this way and that, she couldn't get out of Nick's hold as he just hugged tighter.

" _Niiiick..."_  Judy groaned. "Put me down!"

"Not until I get an apology kiss," he retorted with a snicker. As if to emphasize his statement, he began swaying side to side, snickering as the movement only soaked Judy's uniform all the more.

"Fine…" Judy huffed, though silently happy with the compromise. Leaning up, she placed a gentle kiss upon his lower jaw, then, knowing what it would do, began a trail of tiny kisses down his muzzle until she hit his throat. A low rumbling escaped his throat as she felt his hold slacken.

Judy took the chance and slid from his grip as she examined herself.

"I'm going to grab a towel," she muttered. Holding her arms up, she saw water dripping from the neoprene.

"You need a towel?" Nick laughed while pointing to himself with one paw, and his bed with the other. "Uhuh, I get the towel,  _you_  get the dryer running."

"But Nick," Judy stated, grinning like a banshee. "Have you forgotten ladies first?"

Nick's mouth opened for a retort, then shut just as quickly. Placing a paw to his forehead, he mumbled quietly to himself.

"Remind me why I gave you a house key again?"

Judy smiled cheerfully over at him, her paws behind her back as she rocked on her heels. "Because you know you love me."

Nick couldn't help but laugh. "Sly bunny."

"Dumb fox," Judy stated as she wandered forward, grabbing his paws and placing them in her own. "But you will  _always_  be my dumb fox."

In that moment, the smile on Judy's face lit up his world. Cusping her paws in his own, he leaned forward, pressing his lips into hers in a soft kiss before whispering so softly against them she felt another shiver running down her spine.

"And you'll always be my sly bunny."

After sharing several more kisses, and a growing heat between them, Judy pushed Nick towards the bathroom, telling him to get ready for the day. As the fox left with a lazy salute to the bunny, Judy gathered the damp sheets in her arms. The bundle of cloth dragging across the floor, she made her way towards the dryer when the door to the bathroom opened and Nick poked his head out with a smirk.

"Don't forget these," Nick stated with a grin. In a blur, a mass of green plaid boxer shorts hit Judy nearly square in the face as the fox shut,  _and locked_ , the bathroom door to the sound of Judy shrieking at him.

_"NICK!"_

* * *

**6:45am - Janitor's closet inside Furzer**

Sleep had not come easily to the hippo stuck inside the cramped closet. He had banged on the door for what seemed like several hours, yelling at the top of his voice for someone to help him, yet nobody came. Finally, when his voice was hoarse and the tears would no longer come, he finally fell into a fitful, nightmare plagued sleep.

Opening his eyes, Phil initially panicked when he felt something tickling his head.

"Oh please not a spider!" Phil yelped, jumping up from the floor. His head jammed into a low hanging shelf, causing an unknown bottle and pail to fall on top of him. Feeling around the floor, he finally found the 'spider', a large, used mop head.

"I'm so pathetic," Phil grumbled to himself.  _Here I am, stuck in a closet with no way out._  His stomach gurgled, causing the hippo to groan.  _AND I'm starving._

"If only I had my phone…"

His eyes blinked open once, then twice. "My phone…" In his panic ridden state, he had forgotten about the device completely.

Between a rather large rumbling in his stomach and the coming onset of a headache, Phil rummaged through his pocket until he found…

Nothing.

Phil stared down at his empty pocket, remembering that he had left his phone back at his desk in the lab. Groaning in utter sadness, he slumped against the floor, curling in on himself.

"Why do I always forget the things I need the most."

* * *

**_7:30am - ZPD Precinct One_ **

"So, why do you think the interview is at Furzer's, Nick? The real reason? It can't just be a PR move as not even they could move this fast and with the ongoing investigation. Something is up..."

Nick stared ahead, listening to Judy rambling on about her suspicions while sipping on a cup of Snarlbucks they had picked up on the way to the precinct.

"...I mean, who could have the leverage to get the ZPD, Furzer  _and_  ZNN to move so quickly."

"You just said who could do that," Nick said between slurps as they made their way past Clawhauser's desk. The cheetah was just setting up his computer for the day, giving them a big smile filled wave as they passed. Though instead of taking the stairs up to their office to grab a few items before heading to the bullpen as they usually would do, they instead trekked to a different destination.

Judy turned to Nick. "Who?"

"Furzer," Nick repeated for her.

"You think that Steven Furzer has something to do with all this?" Judy asked. Before he could speak again, she answered her own question. "I can see him pulling the strings for all this, but why now?"

"I don't know," Nick replied as they reached the second floor landing and began down the hallway. "Any number of reasons. His Chief of Security was the one who tried to kill us after all, so he probably wants to get some good press in the news to counteract it."

Judy's ears lowered behind her, a signal to Nick she was deep in thought. "I know that look, Carrots. What are you thinking?"

"A hunch," she replied, pausing as they reached a door labeled 'ZPD Mammal Relations'.

After waiting for her to continue, Nick rolled his paw in a way suggesting she should explain further. "Care to elaborate on your hunch about lunch with a mammal bunch?"

Judy paused, trying to establish her thoughts once again. Currently at least a dozen scenarios were running themselves in her mind, all competing for the title of  _'best conspiracy_ ' or winner of  _'Makes-the-Most-Sense Award'_. Her gut was telling her that something wasn't right about all this, and that no one mammal could pull off everything that Harold did without anyone noticing. All the clues pointed towards there being at least a second mammal involved.

Or even more than that…

The sophisticated way that Harold had blocked the jam-cams from seeing his getaway vehicle when he drugged Dr Shepherd. The advanced nighthowler formula that just  _happened_  to be developed for a rabbit and a fox  _first_ before any of the hundreds of other species. Each part of the conspiracy added up to an immense dollar amount. Something that, judging by the pictures of Harold's apartment, he wasn't particularly familiar with.

Though she knew one person who was.

"I think I'll just keep my hunches to myself before sticking my foot in my mouth again..." Judy began.

"You've done that before?" Nick asked suddenly with a shocked expression.

"Oh hush you," Judy said. They had joked around enough about how terrible her paw-in-mouth disease was, and had seen it enough times from others to know she wasn't alone in making poorly timed comments. She'd gotten better, and with the city already having moved past her original, horrifying mistake at that first press conference, she felt she could  _somewhat_ joke about it now.

"Like I said," she continued, "I think if anything we should keep a close eye on Steven Furzer today while we are there. I doubt he'll do something with so many witnesses around, but we can't be too careful."

Nick smiled. "One sly fox, coming up." Judy's mirth filled laugh filled the hallway as they reached their destination. The large doors labeled simply "Mammal Resources" was a room that caused most officers to avoid this hallway completely like Bogo after having a prank pulled on him by a certain fox officer. Nick sighed heavily while placing his paws upon his hips. He shook his head as he looked up at the door. "Can't believe we got shuffled into this assignment."

"Let's make the best of it," Judy piped up, grinning as she hopped up to the door handle and yanked it down and open. Pushing off the side of the wall with her feet gave her enough momentum to push the door open for them. Jumping down to the ground, Nick grabbed the now open door and waved his paw into the room.

"After you."

"Aww, how sweet!" Judy laughed. "I think I found myself a keeper."

With the fox now chuckling, the two entered the room to see a rather large lynx with thick, round, black glasses tapping her foot as she glared at them.

"Well  _finally_  you two decide to show up," she growled while pointing at them. "Seems like somebody had requested my services for you two and I daresay you need it. Now come, come!" She looked them both up and down and gave them a disgusted look. "And by the looks of it you both need a rather copious amount of work to look presentable."

"I resent that remark," Nick growled as he folded his arms across his chest. "I have perfect fashion sense." Both females in the room turned and looked at him. The fox couldn't figure out who was giving him the better stink eye as he looked between them.

"What?...I do," he complained.

"Is he always like this?" the lynx asked Judy wryly. The rabbit nodded with a sly grin while looking at her partner. "Yes, though you caught him on a good day it seems. You should see his casual wear."

The lynx made a disgusted sound like she was retching. "Ugh, cleanse my mind!" she groaned, rubbing at her temples before strutting forward and taking them both by their arms. "Now, come, come, Darlings. We have much work to do to get you looking presentable. There hasn't been a challenge I haven't overcome yet, even if this one will be much more challenging than usual." She whirled on them, letting go of their paws while grinning at them. "But I accept your challenge, or else my name isn't Etna Mole."

* * *

**8:30pm - The Bullpen**

'Raucous' could be the term to describe the bullpen every morning before briefing. After the successful end of a huge case, it would become even more noisy as the officers would celebrate with the ones who managed to solve it.

However, it was a rather quiet bullpen that greeted Chief Bogo. He walked in, expecting the loud hoots, hollers, trumpeting and growls, but today there was none of those. After looking around, he noticed the reason why as several officers looked at the empty seat in the front row.

"Hopps and Wilde have an interview at Furzer today, which is why they are not here." His comment answered the question that most of them had been too nervous to ask the Chief.

"I thought they were out,  _celebrating_ ," McHorn snickered, earning a few growls and snorts of approval. Bogo glared at the rhino for a moment, and the larger mammal simply shrunk into his seat.

"No items are on the docket today so regular duty assignments. McHorn, Rhinowitz…"

The rest of the meeting went off without a hitch for once and Bogo actually enjoyed having a briefing without a single sarcastic comment from the fox in the front row. He could deal with the quips from the others with a glare, though that only seemed to further push Officer Wilde to make an even smarmier comment than his first. As he finished collecting his paperwork, he noticed a pair of officers approaching him.

Putting on his glasses, he stared at the wolf and tiger. "What is it?" he grumbled.

"Sir," Delgato began, "Officer Hopps sent us some new information on the case and had Skippel down in the tech department searching through it."

"So?" Bogo asked impatiently.

"She thinks there was someone else involved, sir," Fangmeyer continued for his partner.

Bogo grunted as his curiosity was peaked. "What do you mean there were others involved?"

Delgato scratched the back of his head nervously. "That's what we're trying to figure out sir, and why they enlisted the help of Skippel."

"If Hopps and Wilde believe someone else is involved, I'd more than wager a month of drinks at the 10-7 that their hunch is right," Delgato added.

Bogo groaned. This was  _not_  what he wanted to hear this morning.

"So I'm guessing this means  _your_  paperwork will be late getting on my desk as well?"

The wolf and tiger nodded.

"Fine…" the cape buffalo snorted. "Just make sure that if there is a second mammal involved in all this, that Hopps and Wilde know about it instantly. Understood?"

"Yes sir!"

The pair left the bullpen with the chief, both groups going their separate ways as the pair of detectives walked towards the technology department.

"Think Skippel has found something yet?" Fangmeyer asked hopefully.

Delgato shrugged. "You never know with that rabbit. She's as good at her job with computers as Judy is with hers. Don't know what it is with these rabbits we've been getting but there must be something in the water for them to be the way they are."

Fangmeyer chuckled. "I think you could be using some of that then, as I remember the last time you sparred with Hopps-"

"Don't say it," Delgato growled. The feline grumbled down the hallway as his partner was content with the snarky smile he wore.

* * *

**9am: Furzer Laboratories**

_My oh my what a wonderful day. Killing a fox AND bunny today. Zip a dee do dah…_

A harsh ringing from his pocket jolted Steven from his thoughts.  _Now what…_

Pulling the device from his pocket, he growled as he saw his wife's face appear on the screen. Smashing the 'talk' button, he snarled into the phone.

"What do you want now? You already threatened me with not seeing my kids again, so what is it this time?"

 _"Shut it Steven!_ " his wife's angry voice replied.  _"I called because the kids wanted to talk to their daddy after he didn't come home last night."_

"Put them on then!"

 _"Not if you're going to take that tone with them I'm not,"_ was his wife's stern rebuttal. " _I won't have them crying any more tears because of you. They're already upset that their daddy was friends with someone who tried to murder their heroes."_

Steven blanched at the comment, his fury growing by the second.  _Is that what my own kids think of me now?_  He thought angrily. The muskrat chuckled into the phone.

"Then they are about to cry a whole lot more," Steven muttered darkly, cutting off his wife's shocked reply by ending the call. Stalking back to his desk, he yanked open the desk drawer and eyed the custom weapon he had crafted. "If they want to side with the mammals that ruined my life, then they can cry all they want for all I care."

Placing the weapon into his suit jacket, he then grabbed the two baggies of powder within the drawer. Shutting it, he glanced across his desk, making sure nothing was out of place before he left to  _welcome_  his guests of honor. His gaze caught on a photo of his family, his kids smiling at him from the framed picture. Shaking his head, he reached across the table and pushed the photo face down upon his desk before walking out of his office.

* * *

 **9:16am HR Department**   **ZPD Precinct One**

"As I told you already darling, you can't wear your uniform to the interview. It would look so tacky and unstylish of you; a true fashion faux pas that would  _destroy_  your reputation as an intelligent and well dressed mammal. That and we want you to look  _refined_  and  _divine_  in front of the cameras."

Judy grumbled as she eyed the outfit she had been given by the lynx, Etna.  _A pant suit...why would they want me in a pantsuit?_

"Because it will make you look powerful! Strong! A bunny who can take on anything life can throw at her!" Etna shouted from outside the door to her cramped changing stall.

Judy blinked in surprise, dropping the coat she had been holding to the floor.  _How did she..._

"How did I know what you were thinking?" Etna drolled. "Easy, it is what everyone  _always_  thinks of when I give an outfit to the unsophisticated in tastes. Trust me, you will look wonderful darling. A masterpiece of clothed art!"

Judy huffed, as she picked up the jacket. ' _Strong' my fluffy tail. I'd rather wear my uniform._  After taking off her uniform, she stared with conflicted emotions at the dark blue pantsuit she had been given to wear with a sky blue blouse for underneath. Her uniform lay neatly folded on the rather large bench that occupied most of the room fit for mammals larger than herself. Eyeing the suit, she had to give the lynx credit that at least its color matched that of her ZPD uniform almost perfectly. It looked to be about her size, though if it was bought at any sort of bunny boutique, then it would doubtlessly be too large for her as most city bunnies she had seen had been quite a bit heftier than even her father.  _How would I move in this?_  she wondered. Her dress blues were stiff enough, yet the coat looked like she wouldn't be able to move her arms at all.

 _We're going into a place for an interview where we suspect the mammal in charge of it all is after us, and she wants us to look 'approachable' rather than useful?_  Sighing, she began tugging on the pants over the boot on her foot with some degree of annoyance and frustration.

"Can I at least wear my vest under all this?" Judy asked through the door after finally managing to button up the pants, which surprisingly, were a perfect fit.

"No!" came the shouted reply. "No vests! It will make you look clunky and un-approachable. Besides…" Etna's voice dropped to a whisper that only Judy's ears could have picked up. "...do you want that fox of yours to drool at the sight of you or not?"

A moment's hesitation was all it took before Judy began throwing on the requisite clothing.  _He better if I have to wear this all day..._

After a few moments, Judy opened the door and walked out, not feeling like herself as she looked down at the suit she was wearing. She was much more comfortable in a pair of jeans or jeggings than what she was wearing now.

"Oh, you look marvelous darling!" Etna cooed as she ran up to the bunny, eyeing her up and down. "The blue really brings out your fur tone and makes you look like Serendipity herself!"

A chuckle from nearby brought Judy's attention away from the lynx's fingers messing with her outfit.

"Though to really match with Serendipity, Carrots, you'd have to lose the clothes."

Judy's ears began turning beet red as the fox chuckled and approached her. "I do agree though, you look marvelous." The bunny watched as his eyes traced her figure up and down, the warm smile he held brightening her own.

 _I think I can allow that comment to slide..._ Judy thought as Nick placed a quick kiss between her ears.

"Maybe we should get Serendipity down here so you can put her to shame though."

 _Nevermind_ …

Judy huffed irritably, shoving her partner with a smirk. "Are you saying that you have to hold a contest to know who the most beautiful rabbit to you is? Hmm?"

"Don't answer that darling," Etna stated flatly. "It's a trap, if you hadn't figured it out already."

"Darn right!" Judy supplied with a grin as Nick's ears fell a bit and he gave a nervous chuckle. " Besides, you'd have to marry me before making such provocative comments like that, Officer Wilde."

"I know a good Wayne officiant at the Wee Classy Chapel if anyone has some wedding rings," Nick joked, instantly recovering from his slight embarrassment. "Though I think the contest would be mostly just to show Serendipity who the loveliest bunny in the world is. And by that, I mean you."

"Oh hush!" Judy chittered. "You clean up quite well yourself." Judy eyed Nick down once...then twice. He was wearing a rather dashing dark blue suit coat with matching pants. His white button down shirt was untucked, allowing Judy to see a tuft of white fur on his chest...

"Enough with the chit chat lovebirds!" Etna interjected, bringing Judy out of staring at her fox. "We still have much to go over about your interview as I've seen your previous attempts at public statements and don't wish the city to be thrown into chaos again by your comments." Ignoring the frowns from the two mammals, the lynx quickly made her way over to a rather large binder on top of a table situated in front of two seats. Quickly ascending the steps behind the table, Etna opened the binder which stood nearly a third her height while the fox and bunny took one of the seats in front of her. Rolling her eyes as they entwined their paws, she licked her paw and shuffled a few sheets into the binder.

"Now, we have much work to do with you two, so let's get started on what and how to speak. Lesson one…"

* * *

**10:15am: Hallway of Furzer Pharmaceuticals**

Pushing the mop bucket and trash barrel through the hallways always brought Stanley Fishter a certain amount of pride. He had grown up in a family of janitor otters, working in schools, businesses and everywhere in between. But none of them, not even his cousin Ralph, could have imagined someone in their family tree branching off to become  _head_  janitor at a company as large as Furzer.

It meant at family gatherings  _he_ was the one they gathered around to hear stories from. Not Ralph and his cushy job of being the janitor at Niceland Apartments. Besides, he had the better stories to tell anyways. Anytime a laboratory spill occurred, he was always the one in charge of cleaning it up.

_Try that one on for size Ralph._

Usually he didn't work cleaning duties much anymore, but today, due to an employee of his coming down with food poisoning, he had to deal with the mundane tasks of his job. Which included cleaning the entire hallway he was now standing in.

Rubbing his bristly mustache, a source of pride for himself, he whistled while he walked down the hallway. Turning a corner, his whistling stopped as he noticed a grouping of yellow signs around a door.

"Hmm, what are those doing there?" he mumbled. Pushing the cart forward, he then noticed an additional sign on the restroom door.

"Closed?"

Taking off his cap, Stanley scratched his head. "I don't remember this one being on the schedule as closed for refurbishment."

After standing and staring at the door for nearly a minute, Stanley shrugged his shoulders and walked away down the hall, whistling as he went.  _I'll get to it eventually today..._ he thought, the sound of his whistling going unheard by the mammal locked inside, the hippo having passed out due to exhaustion and worry.

* * *

 **11:05am** -  **ZPD Precinct One**

"So glad we're finally out of there," Nick groaned in audible relief. "I don't think I could stand another minute of her reminding me what foxes are thought of in this city."

"I thought you agreed with the part about them being handsome?" Judy joked, grinning widely as she 'bumped' into her partner as they exited the HR department. Nick gave Judy a quick 'she said that' look, which quickly morphed into a 'I can't believe I fell for that' look.

"Taking away your 'Slick card' again," Judy humored as Nick shook his head. Nick gave her a grin, swatting her with his tail as he moved to walk ahead of her. The sensation of his tail brushing up against her ears caused a shudder to sweep through her body and a slight trembling of her nose.

"What was that Carrots?" the fox asked smugly as he turned to face her, walking backwards. To say that Nick was enjoying the satisfied look on his partner's face at the briefest of touches would be an understatement.

"That was-"

"Amazing? Sensational? Something only the fox you love and adore could do?" he asked rapidly, raising his paws with a smile. "Tell me I'm wonderful. Go on, I'm listening."

"More like insufferable," Judy said while cracking a smile. Nick stopped, leaning down, still with that smug expression on his muzzle.

"But you know you still love me," he said matter of factly.

"Absolutely, one hundred percent," she replied. Darting her gaze behind her to make sure they were alone in the hallway, Judy briefly put her paw around Nick's neck and pulled him in for a kiss. There weren't any fireworks or orchestra accompanying it, yet it was still fantastic by both of their standards.

"Now," Judy replied, stepping back while enjoying the throaty purring sound that Nick made during and after the kiss. "Let's get this interview over with so we can get back to work."

Nick laughed heartily as he stood to his full heights. "That's the Carrots I know and love. Always thinking about her first and foremost love...being a police officer."

"That might be up for debate," she replied, placing a paw against her muzzle, tapping it slowly.

"Would a little more persuasion help?" Nick offered.

As Nick took a step forward, Judy smirked, darted to his side and briefly jumped up to tussle his ears. The movements were less skillful than usual, with both the boot and the suit coat limiting her movement, but still got the message across to her vulpine partner.

"Raincheck, Slick. We've got work to do."

"Fine," Nick groaned, though in amusement as it caused Judy to chuckle. "Let's just get downstairs and check out with Clawhauser before heading out to Furzer."

And as if a fog had settled over the pair, the pleasant mood dropped like a rock into the ocean, as if simply the name was enough to destroy any happiness between them.

Nick grumbled at the sudden sourness, but set his mind to the reason why.  _There is something going on with Furzer, I know it..._ he grumbled mentally as he analyzed each and every fact of the case they had found so far.  _If only we had enough evidence for a warrant or to interrogate him today._  The thought brought a bit of comfort to Nick, knowing that even if the muskrat  _was_  somehow involved, that if they had such little evidence to go on so far, then the tiny mammal had covered his tracks well.

 _They always mess up when they think they are untouchable_.

Nick smiled at a familiar memory of himself where he had enough sass to fill a swimming pool, and a dumb bunny trying to catch him for hawking his pawpsicles with Finnick. Then only to have the same bunny, while he was busy thinking he was invincible, to level his pride to the dust with two simple words.

"Tax evasion," Nick drawled.

"Hmm?" Judy stopped at the elevator when she heard Nick behind her. "Why bring that up? Do you think we could nail Furzer on it?"

"No, not that," Nick chuckled. "When someone thinks they are untouchable, they usually are so filled with pride- not that I would know of course…" Judy stifled a giggle as Nick rolled his eyes. They moved aside as Officer Trunkaby exited the elevator, the elephant smiling at the two smaller mammals as they entered the lift and pressed the button for the main floor. "As I was saying, they usually are apt to overlook the simplest of trivial matters that will finally catch them.

"Thus tax evasion," Judy repeated with a grin. "So, what is your idea, Nick? I know you're planning something between those ears of yours."

"Why Officer," Nick scoffed, pointing to his head, "there are a plethora of things that go around inside this fox's mind, of which most are brilliant ideas. Such as dating a particularly cute bunny."

Judy felt a rise of heat in her ears as Nick grinned. Before she could open her mouth, he raised a finger. "Ah, ah, ah. I know what that word means, and I mean it as one bunny to another would."

Again, a massive wave of heat filled the rabbit doe's ears as a smile graced her lips at the compliment. Sensing an opening, Nick ruffled the fur between her ears and smiled himself as his paw was first swatted away, then gripped tightly in Judy's own as she snuggled into his side. The rest of the ride down was filled with a pleasurable silence until the chiming of the doors signalled an end to their reverie.

"Well, time to see how we can trip up our paunchy little beaver-esque friend into spilling all his nefarious deeds. What say you, Officer Fluff?"

As if on cue, Judy produced her carrot pen from one of her pockets, shaking the device in front of her. "Ready and willing to make the world a better place."

"Though do you know what would be better than arresting that muskrat?" Nick asked with a grin.

Judy gave him a saucy smile with half lidded eyes. "Arresting him on national television?"

"Bingo!" Nick shot back.

"Officer Hopps! Officer Wilde!"

The two smaller officers turned towards the reception desk to see Detectives Fangmeyer and Delgato walking away from it and towards them. Upon noticing them, the wolf gave out a low whistle while the tiger gave them both a huge grin.

"What is it Stripes?" Nick asked with a casual smirk as the tiger blinked and slowed at their appearance. Nick couldn't help the next comment at the sight of the tiger staring at first Judy, then him. "Sorry Del, I don't swing that way. Besides, I think my bunny honey here doesn't like to share."

Three things happened at that moment. Delgato's mouth dropped open, hanging limply as if broken, Fangmeyer went into a howling fit of laughter worthy of any hyena and Judy's elbow connected with Nick's side like the force of a hurricane hitting a mouse's hut in Pawlynesia.

The anguished groan from Nick prompted Judy to instantly feel terrible for her instant-reaction to a phrase, that in her mind, was even worse than a bunny being called cute. Feeling terrible as Nick was still groaning and rubbing at his side, Judy picked up his paw and placed a kiss upon it, entwining their fingers together.

"I'm sorry Nick," she whispered. "I...that name is just...please don't say it again…?" she pled, her nose twitching in time with her beating heart.

"No problem," he wheezed. "Guess that isn't as much a term of endearment as I thought it would be."

"You got that right, Wilde," Delgato spoke up, snapping awake from his stupor. "Thought you would have remembered that Judy here had to go undercover to break up that trafficking ring that was specifically employing, 'bunny honeys'.

"You did?" Nick coughed. "When was that?"

"When you were in the academy and I missed your messages for two weeks," she murmured bashfully. "I really don't want to remember that and just that name…" The rabbit shuddered at the memories, but quickly changed her temperament when she looked back up at the tiger. "So what do you need to tell us, Delgato?"

"Skippel found something."

Both Judy's and Nick's ears perked up. "She did!" they said in unison, bringing a chuckle from Fangmeyer.

"Again," the wolf groaned. "Are we sure they aren't one mammal in two separate bodies?" he asked his partner. Ignoring the comment, Delgato continued.

"She isn't sure what she found yet, but she has been able to trace several wire transfers from Bearmuda to Zootopia through a series of banks that all wind up back at a secret account within Furzer to the tune of a few million dollars."

Judy's eyes widened at the news. "A few  _million?"_

"That's enough to start a secret criminal project if I ever heard of one," Nick muttered darkly. "Any concrete ties to the head honcho over there?"

"None yet," Delgato continued, shaking his head. "She hasn't taken a break since last night though, so I'm sure she'll find something soon. Just be careful over there, okay? Someone more than just that creep of a zebra wants you two gone."

"Understood," Judy stated, nodding at the news. Suddenly her ears perked up and twisted towards the stairwell. Her gaze shifted frantically towards Nick. "I need to head to my locker for a moment. Can you sign out with Clawhauser for us ?"

Nick gave her a quizzical look, but nodded as Judy limped off towards the back of the precinct.

"What's gotten into her?" Fangmeyer asked, following the retreating form of the rabbit until she disappeared into the back halls of the ZPD.

"Now where are my two divas? I just found more information to go over with them."

Nick's eyes nearly bulged out of his sockets as the familiar voice sounded loudly from the area of the main stairs. "You know, you guys go check out with Clawhauser for us and I'll be right back as well."

Nick was sprinting away before he even finished his sentence, leaving a startled pair of detectives in his wake.

"Have you two seen the newest stars?" a voice spoke up behind them not long after Nick's form disappeared in the same direction Judy had gone.

Both mammals turned around, then looked down to see a well dressed lynx with large glasses staring up at them. 'Well, I don't have all day and you two were assigned to work with them, no?"

"They are...somewhere?" Fangmeyer offered, earning a glare from the shorter mammal.

"Of course they are  _somewhere_ , darling," she drawled before her voice quickened immediately. "If I wanted to know where they are existentially I could have asked any old mammal in the building, not two meat for brains that only know how to sputter out excuses rapidly like gobbling turkeys."

"Eh what?" Fangmeyer whined, only to be waved off by the obfuscating feline. "Now," she drawled, "do you know where they are or not? We have a car to catch and a city to dazzle."

"Right here!" A voice chirped up from down the hall. All three mammals turned to see Judy adjusting her coat while Nick was tucking in his shirt. Both had nervous smiles at seeing the lynx glaring at them.

"Oh  _there_  you two are. I thought for a moment you were carousing in a closet somewhere. Though by the way you are fiddling with the coats and collars am I to assume I'm correct, hmm…?" She grinned before turning swiftly towards the door. "Now, come, come! We have much to discuss and little time to do so." The lynx paused, spinning back around to face the wolf and tiger. "You two should come upstairs once in a while when we get back as I do enjoy our visits."

The two smaller mammals begrudgingly bid farewell to their friends as they followed the lynx out to the front of the lobby where she was angrily tapping her paw against the tiled floor while holding the door open for them.

"You know," Delgato stated, folding his arms across his chest. "I really don't think we should let them go."

"Nothing we can do right now," Fangmeyer stated bluntly. "We only have conjecture at this point and our paws are tied by this contract with ZNN. They have to go."

The big cat flicked his tail, a feeling of unease washing over him. "Still doesn't sit well with me."

"Me neither, but I'd rather have them there than here."

The comment caught the burly tiger off guard. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean," Fangmeyer replied, "is that whenever Hopps and Wilde are involved, they get more accomplished in the field than they ever could sitting around at a desk. Their fieldwork success is phenomenal and if anyone can dig out the last bits of refuse and arrest the suspects involved, it will be those two."

Delgato stared out of the ZPD's massive entryway, watching a black SUV pulling away from the front of the building.  _At what cost though?_  He wondered, before turning to head back to his office. With Hopps and Wilde now gone for the rest of the day, it was up to them to figure out what was happening at Furzer.

Or to warn them to get the hell out.

* * *

**12:05pm - Chief Bogo's Office**

Bogo was staring at the report in his hoof, rubbing his temple with the other. A stack of matching paperwork sat in two piles upon his desk. One that had his messy signature scrawled across the bottom of each paper in one pile, and the other made up of papers soon to have it written across them.

 _And all from that blasted raid..._ he thought.  _Who knew as Chief I'd be doing this much paperwork._

The ringing of his phone brought a general feeling of relief. His hooves had begun cramping up from all the signatures required, so he was grateful for the reprieve. On the second ring he noticed the name of who was calling, Skippel down in the technology department. Pressing the intercom button, Bogo leaned back in his seat, rubbing his right hoof.

"What is it, Skippel?"

"Sir, you need to come down here as soon as you can." The rabbit's voice was frantic, the words nearly slurring together in her haste. "Bring Delgato and Fangmeyer if you can as well. You all have to see this."

"Skippel, what is the-" Chief Bogo stopped when he heard his phone click and the line go dead. Bogo grunted in surprise.  _She never hangs up on anyone…_

Knowing that if Karen was willing to shorten her call to him and actually  _hang up_  on him, then whatever she had found must be important.  _And if she wants Delgato and Fangmeyer there, it must be in relation to the Furzer case._

With his curiosity piqued, Bogo typed in a few numbers on his phone as he stood. It only rang once before the deep voice of Delgato came through the device.

"Delgato speaking."

"Delgato," Bogo began, "Skippel wants us to meet with her immediately and it's apparently important enough for her to hang up on me during our call."

"Really?" The surprise in Delgato's voice made Bogo frown. "We'll meet you there Chief."

For the second time in as many minutes, the call ended before Bogo could reply. Becoming more annoyed by each passing second, Bogo gruffly left his office, making sure to slam his door loud enough to be heard downstairs as he stomped towards the elevator.

* * *

**12:20pm Outside Furzer**

"Ah, here it is my lovely video stars."

Both Nick and Judy looked at each other with bored expressions as Etna clamored over her seat to look at the large building in front of them. The entire ride over they had been forced to listen to the lynx constantly speaking about their upcoming 'performance'. They had hoped she would have been in another car, but unfortunately, their wish had been denied.

"First moment we can, let's ditch her," Nick whispered into Judy's ear. The rabbit barely contained the snicker of amusement at his comment as the car pulled through the massive parking lot until it reached the front pathway leading into the building. Their smiles dropped as they peered out the window and saw the one mammal standing there that they wanted to see the least at the moment.

Their door opened for them, a leopard treating the two officers like honored guests, allowing them a perfect view of the broadly grinning muskrat several feet away.

"Ah, Officers Wilde and Hopps. Welcome to Furzer!"

The smiles instantly faded from their faces as they stared ahead at the muskrat. The feeling was apparently mutual as Furzer's whiskers flickered and right ear twitched in annoyance.

"Glad to meet ya buddy," Nick stated, quickly shifting into his hustler persona as he exited the car. Offering his paw to Judy, he helped her out before facing Steven again, making sure he was between him and Judy. Even if they had nothing on him, Nick wasn't about to take any chances with his old, self-described- _rehabilitated_ , childhood bully. "Sorry about trying to arrest your friend a few days ago," Nick quipped. "I know a few friends who are foxes that would love to apply for his position if you're hiring"

The fox didn't miss the twitch of both of the muskrat's ears. "That would be charming," Steven stated mutely as he turned towards Etna. "The mammals from ZNN are already setting up inside so if we could-"

"Oh darling, the traffic was terrible. The mammals in this area simply don't know how to drive. It's like visiting Gnu York at lunch hour with every driver a sloth. It's a shame!" The lynx barreled right over Steven's attempted slight, also earning a snicker from Judy and Nick at the mention of sloth driving.

"Ma'am, are you the-"

"Yes, I am the ZPD HR director Etna Mole, pleased to meet you." The lynx threw out her paw, waiting for it to be kissed by the small prey mammal. Steven looked at it with the briefest flicker of disdain before reaching out for it, only for her to remove her paw and walk right past him. "Now as you were saying, we have a performance to accomplish that would cause even Angelina Bunnie to feel ashamed of her own acting. Now come, come, come, come! We have work to do!"

Etna beckoned forward with her paw. Nick and Judy swiftly followed, walking right past Steven without as much as a second glance, leaving the muskrat confused and perplexed behind them. As they walked, Judy nudged Nick, the fox leaning down to hear her better.

"So, do you have the same feeling I'm feeling?"

"My obvious sense has been tingling since I first saw him," Nick replied. "So do I think that he is definitely up to something? Yes, yes I do."

They reached the front of the building, the automatic doors sliding open with a 'whoosh' as a blast of cool air rustled their fur. Walking inside, they saw the ZNN crew chatting with Etna near the front desk, the chittering of their voices breaking the silence of the lobby.

"Did you notice the bulge in his vest?" Judy asked. When the fox nodded, the bunny continued in a hushed tone, the sound of her medical boot clunking against the floor masking her words to those around them. "Think he has another nighthowler gun?"

"Probably," Nick replied. "Either that or he needs a new tailor immediately," he added with a large dollop of snark. Suddenly putting out his paw, Judy was halted in her tracks as Nick moved in front of her. She couldn't help but notice the seriousness in his eyes, nor the fractional bit of fear that was hinted in his features.

"Judy…"

As if she wasn't paying attention before, he held her full attention now.

"I want you to know that I will not allow him to do anything to you. We both need to keep our eyes on him throughout today and if he so much as blinks suspiciously, get a hold of Delgato and I'll distract him."

"Nick, we're-"

Nick cut her off by pointing at the large, clunky device on her foot. "Do you see yourself chasing him down with that?"

"But.."

Judy was silenced by a hug from her partner. His warmth surrounded her, cutting off all thought as she felt a slight shudder work through him.

"Promise?"

Judy was silent, not knowing what to do or say as Nick continued to hold her. She noticed the lobby had gone perfectly silent, all conversations halting at the scene at the entry of the room. Wrapping her arms around her fox, she nuzzled into his chest.

"Okay. I promise," she replied. Pulling away only far enough so she could look him in the eye, she added, "Just don't do anything stupid, okay?" She knocked on his chest twice with a grin. "You know I'm always prepared, but without me reminding you to even put on your pants in the morning, I don't know what you'd show up to the Precinct wearing."

Nick feigned hurt as he placed his paw upon his chest. "Madam..." he began, loud enough to be heard across the lobby. "Are you saying you wouldn't mind me showing up to work with no pants?"

A few snickers sounded across the lobby at the comment as a rush of heat grew through Judy's ears.

Judy sighed and shook her head, crossing her arms across her chest to hide her embarrassment.

Nick simply offered a smug grin as he placed his paws behind his back, all too proud of himself, while returning Judy's gaze.

The rabbit reached up to pat her partner's cheek before whispering, "Maybe once we're  _married_."

It was Nick's turn to feel his ears begin to burn, and he unconsciously put his paw to his cheek, checking to see if it was overheating like he felt it was.

The opening of the sliding doors signaled the end of the moment as Steven walked in. Frowning at the site of the couple in front of him, he put on what Nick could easily tell was a faux smile, walked towards the main group of ZNN reporters and loudly proclaimed. "Well, let's get this show on the road, shall we?"

The muskrat waddled towards the group of ZNN mammals, greeting a skunk wearing glasses and a ZNN-endorsed ballcap, with an air freshener around his neck that likely served no practical purpose. along with shaking paws with Jack Pawson in a friendly manner. The reporter seemed quite jovial himself as he greeted the muskrat, excitedly shaking his paw while no doubt thanking him for the opportunity to visit his building judging by how animated the rabbit had become. It was only after a full half minute of shaking the muskrat's paw did the reporter stop, nervously removing his paw from the smaller rodent's. With the spectacle ahead of them, Judy and Nick barely noticed the approach of Etna behind them.

"Give me your phones please," the lynx demanded, causing both to jump and turn in surprise. The feline had quite the bored expression on her face with her paw extended. "Well, are you going to leave me here to die of boredom or give me your phones so that you can't play Crossy Street when you're supposed to be answering questions or looking interested."

Judy looked to Nick in surprise before turning to the ZPD HR director. "Why can't we just keep them on silent. We need them if something happens with our case and-"

"Your case can wait!" Etan stated, rolling right over the bunny's stammered explanation. "You have more important things to do now, or do you want to keep your public waiting? Hmm?"

Begrudgingly, and with a great deal of reluctance on Nick's part, the fox gave his phone a thoughtful rub before handing it over. The bunny also relinquished her phone to the feline with a fraction of the fox's reluctance.

"Wonderful!" she clapped before walking ahead. "Now let the festivities commence!"

* * *

**12:25pm - Furzer Hallway**

Arriving at the far end of the final hallway he had to mop for the day, Stanley looked down the long corridor with a smile. At the far end was the final item on his checklist for the day, the closed restroom. "Another good day at work," he stated merrily. Coughing, the otter rubbed at his throat. "Need some water I guess."

Spying the water fountain near the closed restroom, he jogged forward, eager for a drink. The fountain gushed forth higher than expected, dousing the otter with a faceful of water as he spluttered a few choice curses. Grumbling to himself, he pressed lighter on the button and guzzled it gratefully.

Humming again to himself, he failed to hear the faint cries for help echoing forth from the bathroom as he walked away, too absorbed in his song to notice.

"Guess I best get to this," he stated as he picked up his mop after reaching his cart. "Looks about like a two hour job so let's get cracking."

* * *

**12:28pm - Tech Department Precinct One**

Bogo stomped into the ZPD's technology department, a gruff frown on his face. "What was it you wanted Skippel?"

Delgato motioned him forward with his paw, as he and Fangmeyer already stood huddled around her computer screen. Moving forward, he managed to finally see Skippel over the top of her chair, her nose frantically twitching as her eyes flickered back and forth between the two predators on either side of her.

Grabbing both detectives by their shoulders, he forcibly pushed them back several feet. The rabbit gave him a grateful smile before refocusing on her computer screen.

"Okay Chief, I think I managed to find some leads about who our mystery accomplice is. Thanks to some work from Dr Woods and Dr Aroughcun, as well as some slight computer networking and remote accessing of several systems and…"

"To the point, Skippel," Bogo groaned.

Appearing annoyed, Karen continued as she directed her attention at her screen. "As I was saying. I managed to find a few of the locations where Harold had picked up packages. As before, whoever was picking them up had some sort of jammer that blocked all outgoing signals from the street surveillance system, like what we saw with the abduction of Dr Shepherd." Clicking file after file, the arctic hare finally worked her way to a rather grainy video file. " _However_ , with a little bit of luck, I managed to find a store's security camera that managed to get a distant, yet clear shot of our suspect."

Going silent, she spun in her seat, a grin set upon her muzzle with the pride of her work showing through.

"Well?" Bogo snorted. "Are you going to show us the video or not?"

"Not just yet," she replied, spinning again in her chair. "I'm still trying to see if I can get a clearer picture, since as of right now, the size of the mammal in question could make them anything from a overweight squirrel to a hyena with dwarfism."

"Officer…" Bogo breathed.

"I have more for you," the doe interrupted. With several rapid clicks, two more screens appeared, as the ZPD mortician, the jaguar Dr Woods, and the raccoon forensics analyzer Dr Aroughcun, appeared on screen. "Take it from here."

The jaguar spoke up first. "Good afternoon Chief Bogo, Fangmeyer, Delgato."

"Afternoon Miss Woods," the cape buffalo replied as he noticed the two detectives leaning into better be in the picture. Again, noticing the nervousness of his smaller officer, he shoved them aside a second time. "What do you have for us?"

"Well, I've concluded the examination of the body and have found several types of fur located on his clothing that at first glance doesn't belong to any of the mammals at the bar."

Delgato leaned over Skippel's seat, pushing it down enough to jostle the hare sitting in it. "How did you find that out?" he blurted out before being shoved back by Bogo again, the larger prey mammal giving him a glare which just dared the tiger to touch the seat again.

"Several of the fur samples caught in his clothes are much thicker at the base than at the top, whereas most of the mammals in the bar around him have more coarse fur that has a generally even thickness to it. Most mammals with that type of fur coat evolved it as a means to reduce the amount of body heat transferred from the body while swimming for elongated periods of time. Either Harold must have been around a mammal like this frequently enough to pick up fur in his shirt and pants, or been on furniture that this mammal had."

Bogo scratched his chin, a sudden, serious expression gracing his muzzle. "So you're saying that a semi-aquatic mammal was around him. Someone like say, a muskrat?"

"Exactly," the jaguar replied with a nod. "I have yet to run an in depth analysis on the fur sample, but that is the type of species we may be looking for. A beaver, muskrat...any sort of mammal that lived a semi-aquatic lifestyle in the past could match the description of the fur.

"And that's not all," Dr Aroughcun jumped in. The raccoon was looking as annoyed as ever, yet offered a grin to the chief of police. "Dr Woods was kind enough to give me several samples of the fur to run against the database of known mammals. We have enough DNA to be able to find a match, and since you're lucky I like you so much, I rushed the order with the lab and should have it ready in an hour."

"Thank you Doctors," Bogo replied. Turning to the two detectives in the room, Bogo's image took on a grave look. "I want you two to head to Furzer immediately. I believe I have enough evidence to convince a judge to give us a warrant. And get Hopps and Wilde on the line. I doubt they have any of their equipment on them at the moment to make an arrest. Let them know what is going on and warn them about Furzer's involvement."

Fangmeyer had whipped out his phone before Bogo finished issuing his orders. Nick's number was already on speed dial as the wolf put it on speaker. Everyone in the room anxiously waited as the phone continued to ring.

_"Hello?"_

Chief Bogo felt a wave of relief wash through him. "Wilde, we need you to-"

_"Ah, it would seem like you caught my answering machine instead of myself. Darn it! What a bummer! Leave a message and if I like ya, I'll call ya back."_

"Call...Hopps... _now."_  Bogo ordered as Fangmeyer hung up, a nervous expression on his face. Again after several rings, Judy's chipper sounding voice filled the room.

_"Hi there! You've reached Officer Hopps of ZPD Precinct One. Sorry I've missed your call, but I'm out making the world a better place with my partner! So please leave a message!"_

Bogo's mood darkened even further as Delgato hung up his phone. "Leave, now! Find them and keep them safe."

"Yes, sir!" Both wolf and tiger saluted as they hurried towards the door, with Bogo yelling after them.

"And arrest that son of a grouse, Steven Furzer!"

As the door closed behind the two detectives, Bogo was left to his growing fears and worries.

"Sir?"

The worried voice caught him by surprise. He had forgotten about the other officer in the room and looked down to see a  _very_  worried hare. "Chief, supposing I wanted to help Wilde and Hopps further, what could I theoretically do for them?"

Bogo sighed. "At this point?" he stated, meeting her gaze with his own. "Do what you can to try and contact them in any way possible. Other than that, pray that nothing has already happened to them."

Nodding, the hare turned back to her computer, beginning to furiously type away at her keyboard as Bogo drew out his own phone. Finding the contact number for Etna, he smashed the button and put it to his ear. It immediately went to voicemail. Bogo roared in anger as he threw his phone across the room, the device smashing against the far wall with a loud crack.

* * *

**12:55pm - Furzer Kitchens**

The kitchens at Furzer labs were buzzing with activity as chefs and cooks frantically ran about to finish dishes on time for the meal. With so many mammals attending with so many different dietary needs, it was a miracle that the kitchen wasn't a complete disaster for how small it actually was.

"Zis kitchen was never designed for zis," Pierre muttered before spotting his sous chef across the room. The ram was looking frantically at several uncompleted dishes set before him.

"Gordon Ramsley, what are you doing zhere?"

"Trying to figure out which dishes require the special spices the officers ordered, Chef."

Bellowing in annoyance, the moose stomped over to his sous chef, snatching the bags from his paws.

"How many times do I have to explain zis? Ze rabbit cop iz having ze poppy and lavender salad with ze ratatouille," the head chef began, pointing towards a dish down the line, "and ze fox is having ze bug choucroute garnie with ze scalloped potatoes!"

Pierre smashed the bags back into the ram's hooves. "Now get to work or zhese dishez will never be completed on time! Chop chop!"

"Yes Chef!" the ram bleeted as the moose stomped away. Grabbing a pair of gloves, the ram quickly walked over to the line of dishes and opened the baggies, muttering under his breath. "Why does he have to be such a dik dik...Ok, so this one goes on this dish, and…" He sprinkled the fine powder over the top of the choucroute garnie as a garnish, smiling as the powder dissolved into the sliced bug sausages and potatoes. "Perfect!"

Moving onto the salad, the ram grumbled as he wondered how to add the spice to it. Finally snapping his hoof, he quickly mixed up a blue cheese vinaigrette and added the powder into it, watching as the powder dissolved almost instantly. "Wonderful!"

The ram dashed over to the dishwasher, smiling when he noticed it being unloaded. "I'll take those," he said as he grabbed two piping hot lids from the impala unloading the machine. Hurrying back over to his dishes, he quickly scrawled, in nigh unintelligible writing, the names Officer Wilde and Officer Hopps upon the papers and taped them to the top.

With the deed done, the ram looked at the two bags, shrugged, then tossed them into the trash. He pulled off his gloves one by one, tossing them into the trash as he sped away, oblivious to the fact that both missed the trash can completely. Or that the tape on his  _carefully_  written notes was starting to peel under the heat of freshly washed steel.

"Now to prepare the other dishes for the ZNN crew…"

* * *

**1:15pm - Furzer Tour**

"How much longer is this going to go on?" Nick whispered into Judy's ears. With her eyes still forward and a happy, cheerful smile upon her face, she tried her best to speak through gritted teeth.

"Nick, we're on camera so please act interested."

"I'm always interested… in you."

Judy stifled a groan. "No, the presentation you dumb fox."

"Fine…"

Nick was more than slightly annoyed at the entire setup that had been propagated and pushed on them. Their 'tour' of the Furzer facility was just an orchestrated hustle to him. Nothing about it was real. Each place they had visited had extra lighting causing him to squint from the brightness shining in his eyes, or had them placed in such locations where the camera would capture their 'best sides'.

He hated it.

Absolutely loathed it. They were lucky he didn't have his tranquilizer on him, as he was severely tempted to have shot himself several times by now. And from the pained smiles that Judy gave, ones that Nick could see right through, she was enjoying it about as much as he was.

 _Should have brought the tranqs..._ he mused, the thought bringing a slight smile to his face.  _Judy and I could have shot each other and just ended all this after the first ten stops._

Currently they were in the laboratory where they had first met Doctor Coyotah and the rest of the scientists who had worked on the Night Howler antidote. It was the one moment that Judy had looked forward to, as she was looking forward to seeing Phil again, hoping that the hippo could lessen the rising annoyance that the rabbit was feeling. Looking at his companion now, Nick thought she looked about ready to start tapping her...

_'Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap..."_

_And there it is..._ Nick chuckled.

"Stop the cameras! This footage stinks." Nick's ears perked up instantly in amusement, staring at the cameraman who was looking at Judy in a strange manner. "Why is Officer Hopps vibrating?" The skunk from earlier, who they learned was named Steven Stinkman, put down the camera he was using to film Judy and Nick listening to Doctor Coyotah. He noticed Judy's foot rapidly thumping against the ground. The bunny quickly stopped, sighing as she put a paw to her face.

"I'm sorry," she replied.

"It's ok," Stinkman replied. "We should probably take a break as I can smell the tension you two have from here." Nick grinned at the joke, though Judy was far less amused and simply groaned at the pun.

"No!" Etna screamed, causing all the gathered animals to wince. "No breaks! Lunch is in less than fifteen minutes so you can relax then! Now turn those cameras back on!"

Once again sighing heavily, Judy put on her best grin as Steven Stinkman turned the camera back on. "Alright, and in 3…" the rest of the countdown was done in paw signals before the skunk pointed at the group for them to begin.

Doctor Coyotah resumed a long diatribe about how the scientists had concocted the antidote, but all Judy could concentrate on was the clock hanging on the wall as she counted down the minutes until she and Nick would be free from all this trouble.

Little did she know the muskrat at the back of the room, with arms crossed and eyes narrowed, a maniacal grin plastered across his face, was keeping a countdown of his own. A chime of his phone had him looking down at the device in his palm where a text message awaited him.

_Ze Luncheon is ready early. ~Pierre_

"Perfect," he purred as he looked up at the assembled group. Walking forward, he caught Etna's attention and waved her over.

"The luncheon is ready early it would appear," Steven said, barely able to contain his mirth. "So let's wrap this up shall we? Just have ZNN leave everything here and we can pick this up afterwards."

The lynx nodded and walked off to speak with Pawson and inform him of what was happening. Steven smiled to himself as he looked at the fox and rabbit couple smiling for the cameras.

 _Not long now..._ he thought with glee. As they finished the current clip, the lynx informed everyone that the lunch was now ready and that they should head to the cafeteria. He watched as the fox and bunny, the objects of so much pain in his life recently, seemed eager at the news and walked out of the lab following a Furzer employee who was leading the entire group to the cafeteria

_Not long at all._

* * *

**1:20pm - Kitchen**

"Get the orders out now!"

"Yes Chef!" a chorus of yells rang out around the kitchen. A line of servers appeared, each gathering up a pre-determined dish before scurrying out the door. A rather frantic looking impala ran from dish to dish, checking each one while muttering nervously. She had been placed in charge of the dishes for not only the two officers, but also for the ZNN reporter Jack Pawson when two other servers had called out with food poisoning.

 _Food poisoning my bucking tail..._ Charla thought as she went from dish to dish, checking the names on each one.  _I saw how those two cheetahs were looking at each other last week. If anything they're still wasted and-_

"What iz going on?" The voice of Pierre broke through her thoughts when the moose finally noticed the skittish server running about his kitchen.

"I can't find the dishes for the two officers!" she replied, rubbing her hooves together. "Each are supposed to have notes, but, I haven't found theirs yet."

"What do you mean, haven't found zem?" the moose growled, placing his hooves upon his hips. "Zey are right over zhere!" He pointed towards a second row of tables in a corner of the room.

"But those don't have any names on them!" the impala whimpered, cowering under the glare of the larger prey mammal. "I didn't know whose they were," she added softly as the moose stomped past her. Opening the lids of one of the three dishes, it revealed scalloped potatoes and sliced rope bug-sausages underneath. The moose pointed at it angrily. "See? Right zhere!"

Grabbing the dish the Head Chef had pointed to, she swiftly jogged it over to a nearby cart. Turning the corner around a trash can, she felt her hoof slip upon something before she went flailing forward. Her head barely missed colliding with an oven door as she fell to the ground, the prepared meal slipping from her hooves and spattering against the ground. Potatoes and bug sausages splattered across the clean tiled floor as all activity in the kitchen came to a complete and swift stop. Swearing loudly, she looked back to see a plastic glove sticking onto her hoof.

"Oh k-" she hissed.

" _J'en ai jusque-là!_ " the moose bellowed over the impala's curse, as several other servers and kitchen staff looked towards the sound of the noise, wincing when they saw what had happened. "Do I have to do everything around here?!"

The moose darted to where a nearby hot storage container stood. Opening it, he gave a sigh of relief as he saw an extra of the dish the impala had just dropped. "You are lucky we have anotzer one ready!" the moose snapped.

Quickly preparing the dish, he brought it over and placed it on the cart while the impala limped over to the other two dishes, quickly snatching them and, while avoiding the slippery glove, placed them upon the serving cart and pushed it towards the door.

As the last of the dishes went out, the head chef finally sighed in relief. With a healthy amount of pride, he watched the large host of mammals seated in the cafeteria, his dishes being placed with exquisite care before them. "Finally…" he breathed, letting his shoulders sag. "With zat done, everyzing should be calmer now." Walking over to a nearby refrigerator, he glanced around making sure he was alone before reaching in. Pushing a few large containers around, his hoof found what he was looking for and pulled a bottle of Johnnie Whisker scotch from the back of the fridge. "Now it iz just you and me, Mon Chéri."

* * *

**1:30pm - Outside Bathroom**

Whistling a tune to himself, Stanley admired his handiwork. Tilting his hat back, he wiped his brow with his paw, sighing in relief at the shiny, spotless floors he had left in his wake.

"Now that that's all done with," he cheerfully hummed to himself, "only one last thing to do."

Eyeing the closed restroom, Stanley picked up the signs surrounding it, placing them onto his cart as he opened the door and pulled it inside after him. The door slammed shut, causing him to grumble.

"Gonna need to fix that darn door. Shouldn't close that heavily. A mammal could get squashed by that."

Picking back up his tune, Stanley began to mop with an expertise that came from decades on the job.

" _Help…"_

The otter stopped immediately, ears perking up.

"Who said what?" he grumbled into the empty room as he looked around.

_"Oh thank Providence…someone help!"_

Turning towards the sound of the voice, Stanley walked towards the door labelled as a janitorial closet.  _Who in their right mind got themselves locked in there this time..._ he grumbled to himself. Flicking key after key on his keyring, he finally found the desired object and twisted it into the lock. Pulling the lower handle to the door, he opened it slowly.

The light penetrating the room caused the hippo lying on the ground inside to wince and groan from the sudden discomfort.

"What happened to you, laddie?"

"What time is it?" the hippo murmured, trying to push himself up onto shaky legs.

"It's about one thirty pm or so," Stanley replied. "Why, did ya miss something? And what were you doing in there in the first place?"

Phil's eyes shot open. "One thirty pm!" he shouted in panic. Stumbling forward, he made it only a few steps before his legs gave out on him. "I have to warn them!" he cried as he massaged his legs, feeling a tingling sensation throughout both of them.

"Warn who and what the marmalade are you talking about?"

"Officers Wilde and Hopps! I have to warn them," Phil cried again. "They're in danger."

"You mean that nice fox and bunny couple I've been seeing on the news?" the mustelid asked. "What's going on with them?"

"I have to warn them…" Phil repeated, stumbling onto legs that were wobbling as much as freshly made jello. Tripping past the otter's cart, Phil pushed himself forward until he got to the door, then disappeared out of it, leaving a perplexed mammal behind him.

"What in the blazes was that all about?" Stanley wondered. He finally just shook his head. In the decades he had worked as a janitor, he had certainly seen stranger things than what he had just witnessed.

"Just another day on the job," he whispered to himself as he took up his mop and began to whistle.

* * *

**1:30pm - Kitchen & Serving the dishes**

Nick and Judy watched as the other visitors around them had their dishes placed before them, though theirs were noticeably absent. Nick couldn't help but frown. "I guess we aren't getting the free lunch after all," he grumbled. "And that was the part I was looking forward to the most."

"Oh hush, Nick," Judy scolded, though her growling stomach caused her look of annoyance to change to a sheepish smile. "Don't say a word," Judy grumbled, though the smug look Nick was giving her at the moment held a thousand words behind it all by itself.

"Besides," Judy grumbled, quickly trying to find a way to get the vulpine's attention off of her, "Jack hasn't gotten his meal either."

Nick's attention shifted to that of the reporter, who was also looking around at all the other meals with a look of longing. "Guess they must have had some problems in the kitchen," Nick grumbled. Turning around, he looked toward where he had seen the previous dishes come from and saw the doors swinging open. An impala pushing a cart rushed out, limping slightly in her hurry.

"Looks like we'll get to eat after all," Nick said with a grin. The impala slowed to a stop next to them, quickly unloading their dishes before them.

"One bug choucroute garnie with scalloped potatoes for," she glanced down at a sticky note in her hoof which had the names of whom she was serving written on it, "Officer Wilde." Moving along to Judy, she deposited another plate. "And a tossed arugula salad with avocado slices and a side of lavender flowers for the lovely Officer Hopps."

Judy blushed under her fur as the impala leaned over to whisper to her while putting a hoof in front of her mouth. "I'm a huge fan of the work you do, Officer Hopps."

"Thank you," Judy stated modestly. No matter how many mammals said similar things to her, it still caught her off guard each time. "Though I think you should thank my partner, Officer Wilde as well, as I couldn't have done anything without him."

"Aww, so modest!" the impala cooed, before noticing an impatient glare coming from the other end of the table. "Sorry, gotta go," she stated with an apologetic smile as Judy found the source of her sudden departure. Steven Furzer was glaring daggers at the server, though when he caught the rabbit looking at him, he forced a grin and a slightly cheerier expression upon his face. Having grown up with so many siblings, Judy knew how to recognise a fake smile half a room away with ease.

Judy turned to Nick, who was looking with frustration at the food on his plate. "Steven knows something," she whispered.

"I wish he knew I don't like bug sausages," Nick grumbled, poking at the links on diced bug patties on his plate in disgust.

"Now's not the time," Judy groaned. The fox looked up at her and saw her frustration. "Seriously Nick, I think he's planned something. I just can't figure out what."

Nick glanced over at the head of the table, focusing on the muskrat who was talking amiably with a goat next to him. "I hear ya, Carrots. But so far I haven't seen anything outlandish other than him rushing this luncheon on us."

"Think he did something to the food?" Judy whispered, eyeing her salad. Nick leaned over and gave it a good sniff. His nose twitched, then he leaned back, covering his muzzle with his arm as he sneezed loudly. "I don't smell anything wrong with it," he sniffled after, "except that they used too much pepper."

Judy watched the server deliver the final dish to Jack, who seemed quite relieved to have finally gotten his meal. Sighing, she looked back down at her own food, wondering if she had simply been imagining Steven's involvement in the first place. She was about to dig into her salad, when the chiming of a fork against a glass caught everyone's attention.

* * *

**1:32pm - Outside Furzer**

The police cruiser screamed to a stop outside the guard shack of Furzer, sending the caribou that had been inside the building rushing out of to greet the police cruiser. Delgato rolled down the cruiser's windows and snarled at the overweight caribou waddling towards them.

"Open this gate!" the tiger roared, flashing his badge at the now frightened mammal. The caribou nodded in earnest, hurrying back inside the building as the gate slowly opened. As soon as the cruiser had enough room, Delgato floored the gas pedal, racing through the long stretch of road leading to the front of the massive building.

"I hope we aren't too late," Delgato grumbled. Looking over at his partner, he could see the wolf on his phone again. "Any luck getting ahold of anyone inside?"

Fangmeyer shook his head. "All three of their phones are still going straight to voicemail."

Worry began creeping into the tiger's thoughts.  _Why would all three phones be off? Have they somehow all been turned off? Or do they even have them anymore?_

Shaking his head free of his inner, tumultuous thoughts, Delgato steered the cruiser towards the building as the parking lot came into view. A group of deer employees jumped off the sidewalk as the cruiser took the final turn sharply, its back wheels temporarily jumping the curve.

"Too fast!" Fangmeyer yelped as the rear end of their cruiser began heading towards a large lamp post.

* * *

**1:32pm - Luncheon**

Steven was delighted. Everything was going exactly to his plan. There had been no sign of Phil, the chef reassured the extra ingredients had been added per the 'officers' requests', and now those officers were greedily looking at their dishes. Even if that server had been late in getting their dishes to him, he grinned in satisfaction at a plan coming together. Standing up at the end of the table, he gently tapped his fork against his glass, attracting everyone's attention.

"Thank you all for allowing us to have you here with such short notice," Steven began. He disregarded the rather large snort coming from the fox at the opposite end of the table and continued. "We are all here to celebrate the achievements of some of the best and brightest our wonderful city has to offer…"

Delgato spun the wheel at the last moment, the rear fender of the cruiser narrowly clipping the lamp post as it spun the cruiser forty-five degrees before the tiger regained control of his vehicle.

"...Officer Judy Hopps and Officer Nicholas Wilde. Mammals such as themselves, who make such an impact upon our fair city, only come once in a hundred years"

"Sounds like he's speaking at our funeral," Nick whispered to Judy. The bunny nodded, eyelids lowering as she focused her gaze upon the muskrat speaking in front of them.

Steven continued unabated, "So here's to Officer Hopps and Officer Wilde. For all the heroic deeds they have done, and for the time they have graciously given us to conduct this celebration of their actions. May they never be forgotten!"

"Clawhauser, status report!" Bogo thundered as he bolted into the lobby, visitors and other officers jumping out of the cape buffalo's way.

"Nothing yet sir!" The usually bubbly cheetah seemed to be a solid mass of tension and worry as he stared at the intercom on his desk. "Delgato and Fangmeyer were five minutes away per their last check in."

"Get ahold of them again!" Bogo roared. "And for Karma's sake get a hold of anyone at Furzer or ZNN!"

Steven's attention turned to the group of mammals from ZNN. "And I should give an especially warm welcome to the crew from ZNN that has so generously offered to hold this interview here at Furzer Pharmaceuticals. It may have been a bit of a drive for all of you." A few chuckles came from the gathered mammals at the luncheon. "However, I do hope you will enjoy the food that we have provided for you."

The muskrat's gaze met Jack's, as the rabbit smiled and nodded at the host. "Thank you again for your hospitality, Mr Furzer," the buck began. "I can assure you that the food here smells much better than what we have at the kitchens of ZNN."

That comment brought a rousing bout of laughter from the assembled news crew, as well as a slight smile from both Nick and Judy.

The cruiser screeched to a stop directly in front of the entry doors of Furzer, leaving black skid marks across the cement as it came to a stop. Fangmeyer was out before the vehicle even came to a halt, rushing towards the building as the sound of a his partner's pawsteps sounded close behind him. They bounded towards the receptionist, who fell over in her seat when the massive tiger slammed his badge upon her workstation.

"Where's Steven Furzer!" Delgato roared.

"Um...I...I can't say at the moment," the startled deer trembled. "He...he asked not to be interrupted today.

"Well  _interrupt_  him then," the tiger snarled.

As the last of the laughter died down, everyone's attention was again drawn to the head of the table.

"Now, as I can see all of you have been waiting long enough to sample the exquisite dishes that Pierre has graciously created for us, I'd suggest we all dig in." A general murmur of agreement met the announcement as Steven managed to catch two pairs of eyes staring at him with distrust. Steven allowed the briefest of smirks to cross his face as he sat down, the gaze of the fox and rabbit never leaving his own. "Now eat up everyone," he stated, the rustling of forks and spoons sounding in everyone's ears.

The large gathering began to dig in quickly, everyone hungry after such a long day walking and filming. Nick picked at his dish, eyeing the food with suspicion He noticed Judy doing the same, even going as far as to lean forward to grab her napkin in a pretense to give the meal a good sniff.

Dabbing at her mouth to finish the charade, she leaned over to Nick. "It smells clean," she whispered to him. She remembered the tainted carrots they had found in one of their previous trips to the labs, and wasn't about to take any chances. "What about yours?"

"Nothing," he replied, then laughing as if she had made a funny comment as he noticed the eyes of a certain muskrat boring in on them. "I think we have an audience."

"Well, if he tainted our food," Nick thought, "he'd probably be wanting to watch for us to start choking or going savage any moment. Though by the the smell of it, I think it's safe."

"If your nose trusts it," Judy said, before stabbing a piece of lettuce.  _It certainly looks delicious…_ she thought as she brought it up to her mouth.  _And I'm starving._

She fully trusted Nick. If he said he didn't smell anything wrong with the food, then she was worrying over nothing. Just as she was about to give in and take her first bite, the sound of silverware clattering against tile jolted her attention to their right.

There, they noticed Jack Pawson beginning to cough, grabbing at his throat as one of his fellow ZNN staff members patted his back. The rabbit reached down below the table, most likely in an attempt to grab his dropped utensil when he slipped from his chair and fell to the floor.

Judy and Nick both looked down at their food, then at each other with wide eyes. "Oh no..."

Both were out of their chairs and at Jack's side in an instant, alongside Stinkman, who was nervously hovering over his friend. "Is he alright?" the skunk asked as Jack began pawing at his throat, his nose twitching frantically.

 _Oh no...no, no, no, no! Not again!_ Judy thought as the reporter began making a ghastly sounding chitter. "Someone call an ambulance!" she screamed.

"And someone get the night howler antidote, now!" Nick added immediately after. The crowded table instantly became a whirlwind of activity. Several members of the Furzer team began frantically running around, some for the doors and others towards the laboratory where the antidote was kept. The gathered members of the ZNN crew started racing in circles or hiding under the tables, while another pulled out his phone, which he had kept despite the ban on them during the tour and interview process, and began filming.

Yet through it all, one mammal could be heard growling in frustration.

"How did he wind up with that dish!?" he growled, slamming his tiny fist upon the table. It was his bad luck, of course, that it was that moment that Judy had turned and spotted him in the frenzied crowd. Her eyes narrowed, and Steven knew that she had heard him.

Steven leapt off his chair and ran for the door as fast as his stubby legs could carry him.

"Nick!" Judy hissed, "Steven's getting away!"

"No I'm not, I'm right here!" the skunk replied nervously, tears just beginning in the corner of his eyes. "What's happening to Jack?"

"Not you," Nick shot back, a bit harsher than necessary, causing the skunk to flinch back. "Furzer. _"_

"Who here has any medical training?" Judy yelled, trying to make her voice heard over the growing panic in the room. One of the scientists they recognized from the lab, the cheetah, raised his paw and scurried forward. Judy levelled her gaze at him. "I want you to hold him down until someone can get the antidote. If he tries to run, stop him. If he tries to bite you…" the cheetah's face blanched as Judy continued, "try not to get bitten."

The feline nodded. Leaning down, he went to press down on the rabbit's shoulders, taking over from Nick as the fox went to move back. Jack, in his now frenzied state, with a slight amount of foam and spittle bubbling from his lips, kicked out, catching the fox in his chest. Nick grunted as the rabbit's legs connected with a soft 'thump', knocking him over.

"Are you okay?" Judy shouted, helping Nick to his feet. He nodded hurriedly and grinned. "Nothing these old bones can't handle."

Judy smiled as they stood. With the cheetah now holding down the violently shaking Jack, the two rushed out of the room as best they could with Judy's boot slowing them down. Sensing Judy's building anger, Nick reached down and lifted her up, carrying her in his arms and sprinted towards the door of the cafeteria…

...just as a massive hippo barged in, out of breath and collapsing to the floor.

"Phil?" both Nick and Judy gasped at once.

"Thank heavens you two are okay," the hippo wheezed.

"What happened to you?" Judy asked, Nick placing her down upon the ground as she hobbled up to the massive mammal.

"Steven...locked me in a closet," Phil stated painfully. "I saw him last night...trying to lace the food...with Night Howler."

"Did you see him just now?" Judy asked. When the hippo nodded, she pressed on. "Where was he heading Phil?"

The hippo raised an arm and pointed. "Looked like he was heading towards his office. You could probably...catch him. I'll just lay here...for a bit…sorry I can't, help more…" he wheezed, his arm slumping to the ground.

"You did plenty, Phil," Nick stated. "Now come on Carrots, let's go catch us a rat."

"Muskrat," she muttered back.

"Same thing," Nick grinned, opening his arms for Judy to hop in.

"Sorry, Slick, not happening," Judy huffed. Instead, she grabbed his shoulder with one paw and flipped herself up and over him with a practiced ease. Wrapping her legs around his back, she then latched her arms around his neck as he stood, recognizing what she was doing. "Now let's go make the world a better place."

Grinning, Nick ran through the doors that Phil's body was keeping open. The hippo raised his hoof. "Go team!" he groaned, before falling asleep. Just moments after Nick and Judy turned the corner, heading for the corporate offices, another pair of officers sprinting around a different corner came into view. Seeing a hippo lying half in and half out of the door, Fangmeyer gulped.

"I think we're too late," the wolf whimpered to his partner. Running towards the cafeteria, they saw a gazelle scrambling over the prone body of a hippo to exit the door. Screams echoed inside the cafeteria, sounding like pure chaos was happening on the other side of the doors.

"What's going on in there?" Delgato bellowed, flipping out his badge as they advanced on the frightened mammal.

"A...savage bunny!" the female gazelle replied. "The bunny has gone savage!"

Both officers looked at each other in horror before speaking at the same time.

"Judy!"

* * *

Reginald O'Pawblerson was watching his security cameras with increased worry. Originally he had been watching the group of mammals for quite a few laughs. He had watched how the lynx that the two officers had come in with had snuck off for a few minutes with one of the scientists, coming back with mussed up fur that they tried to fix quickly. That and the antics of the ZNN crew left him in stitches for the longest time.

But now...now he was just filled with an overwhelming feeling of panic. He had already called his old partner Bogo, informing him of the situation. He heard the cape buffalo yelling out orders over the still open line, and it seemed like the entirety of Precincts One, Five, and Three were heading to Furzer right now.

Still, as he watched the cameras focused on his boss, Steven Furzer, running through the hallways and shoving past mammals, Reginald knew he had to do  _something._

"If I can slow him down," he grumbled, his eyes catching the running form of a fox with a rabbit on his back, "then maybe those two can arrest him."

Seeing the muskrat quickly approaching the hallway outside the security office, Reginald made up his mind.  _I might be old, but I think I can still take on a little rat like him._

Taking one last glance at the camera feeds, he walked to the door and into the hallway. Folding his arms across his chest, he waited for Furzer to race around the corner, the feline's tail twitching in anticipation.

"Just like the old days," he chuckled. Barely a minute passed before he heard the soft patter of running steps heading towards him and at least, he saw the tiny form of Steven Furzer barreling around the corner, almost gasping for breath.

 _Oh, this will be easier than I thought._ Reginald laughed as he sauntered towards the rodent. The jaguar grinned when the smaller mammal caught sight of him, fear suddenly swelling in Steven's eyes.

"Mr Furzer," Reginald growled. "Seems like there's been some  _problems_ "

"Get out of the way," the rodent huffed, eyes chancing a peek behind him.

"Can't do that I'm afraid," the jaguar stated. "I give them another thirty seconds before they catch up to you. It's over ya blimey eejit!"

Panic seemed to freeze the rodent in place. His paws began trembling and ears twitching as Reginald took another step forward. "Now don't be a geebag and just put your paws behind yer back."

The feline only managed another step forward before Steven's paw went flying inside his jacket. Pulling out what looked like a tranquilizer gun, Reginald only had enough time for his eyes to widen in shock before the rodent pulled the trigger.

* * *

Judy was afraid that the wait for the elevator had taken them too long. Nick had reminded her that it was either it or the stairs. With a point of his paw at the device strapped onto her foot, which now was beginning to throb from already walking too much today, she consented and took the elevator.

"Why would he head to his office?" Judy asked as the elevator doors opened and they cautiously looked out. Judy had pushed the idea that they should be much more careful in their chasing down of Furzer, considering they both had spotted some sort of bulge in his coat earlier. Neither wanted to run the risk of being shot with Night Howlers, if that was indeed what was hidden in his jacket.

"Some sort of crazy last stand?" Nick supplied as they moved from the elevator into the large lobby awaiting them. Peeking around the hallway to their left and right and seeing them clear, Judy waved Nick over to follow her down the hallway on the right. "Seems like all those nutjobs you see at the end of some bad B movie. Makes no sense at all to me. I would have just run for my car and made a break for it rather than being trapped in a building as the police hunt me down."

"I'm glad he doesn't think like you then," Judy supplied. Hearing voices down the hall, they recognized one of them instantly. "It's him."

A large popping sound startled them both and they dove behind a massive potted plant near the end of the corridor.

"What was that?" Nick hissed into Judy's ear as the voices stopped altogether and they heard a heavy thud' of something hitting the ground. Together they nervously looked around the corner, Judy's ears held back in worry.

Both of their eyes opened wide as Judy placed a paw over her mouth. "No…"

In the middle of the hallway lay the prone form of a jaguar, blood pooling around his head.

Seeing the door to what they assumed was Steven's office closing at the far end of the hallway, they ran forward to the predator, whose greying fur and uniform indicated that he was a security officer for the building.

Nick stood back and kept watch as Judy crept forward. Placing her paw against his neck, carefully avoiding the crimson tide staining the carpet a dark red, her voice quivered and shook as she withdrew her paw. She didn't need to state the obvious for either of them.

"Nick," she stated in a very worried tone. "What could have done this?" She didn't need to point as Nick was already analyzing the hole in the jaguar's head, a small round ball of some sort coated in blood, filling the entry wound.

"Haven't seen anything like this before," Nick muttered. "Not even when I was with Big. It's completely new to me."

Judy looked up to meet Nick's gaze. "We have to stop him. We can't let Steven leave now if he has the capacity to do... _this._ "

"What's the plan though?" Nick asked. "He's trapped in that room and it isn't like he has another way out. I'd say just wait for the TUSK team to show up." Nick felt it was a brilliant idea. One that could save them a lot of trouble and keep them safe. Keep  _Judy_ safe.

"We need to stop him  _now_ , before anyone else gets hurt."

 _Of course_ … Nick thought with a heavy sigh. "Carrots-"

"But Nick," Judy said quickly. "There are two ways this can go down. If we don't go in now and he comes out, we'll be stuck in this hallway with almost no cover. And if  _we_ stay out here and there is another exit in there, he could escape.

"Maybe for a minute before TUSK nabs him," Nick quipped back, hoping he could convince his partner to wait. She gave him a frustrated look.

Nick, it's either that or we wait for TUSK to breach the room and one of our friends could be killed. We both know whatever it is he has can kill a jaguar and most of the TUSK team are wolves I can't allow him to put one of our friends lives in jeopardy while we take the safe route."

"I know that," Nick interjected. "But Judy, please, think of your safety!" Nick yelled, gesticulating wildly as Judy walked towards the massive doors to Steven's office. "We don't know what he has in there as a weapon, or if there is even less cover in  _there_  than out  _here_." Nick walked up to her and placed his paw upon her shoulder. "Please."

"We're sworn to protect and serve, Nick," Judy replied softly, turning and and placing a paw upon Nick's arm. The fox looked down at her touch and sighed as Judy continued. "This may be entirely out of our league, but we still need to try."

"But it doesn't make sense to  _try_  in this case, when it could end up with both of us like  _him!"_  Nick pointed dejectedly towards the dead mammal on the ground. His comment caused Judy to stop, her ears falling behind her. The fox hoped he had finally convinced her to make the safe decision for them. It was entirely selfish, and he knew it, but he didn't want to see whatever happened to that jaguar happen to his partner.

He didn't know what would happen if it were Judy lying on the ground in a pool of her own blood. He felt nauseous even thinking of the image as he tried to clear it from his mind.

Crashing sounds from inside the office jarred both of them from their thoughts. Judy's gaze met his once more.

"Nick," She pointed her paw towards the office as they heard a mangled sob coming from behind the door. "Even  _he_  needs to be protected from himself. What kind of mammals would we be if we didn't try?"

 _And that is why I love you Judy..._ Nick thought with a sad smile.  _You never give up on anyone._

"Please Judy," Nick whispered. "We can  _wait_."

Another crash, another shriek.

This time, it was a  _feminine_  one.

Both looked at each other then rushed towards the doors as they heard another loud popping sound and the sound of shattering glass. Opening the doors to the office, they were met with an absolute disaster scene.

Books littered the floor, the shelves that once housed them empty three feet down to the floor. Several lamps that had been atop tables lay broken on the floor while the tables themselves were overturned. But the sight of destroyed property wasn't what turned both of the officers blood cold. It was the sight of a panicked female muskrat on her knees, with what looked like a Night Howler pistol shoved against her head.

"Steven!" Judy yelled, catching the attention of the deranged looking mammal. His attention turned away from the sobbing mammal at his feet.

"If it isn't you two," the rodent spat, his whiskers twitching madly. "The two cretins who destroyed my entire life!" He levelled the weapon at them, pressing a button four times before shoving his wife away. Panicked expressions filled both fox and rabbit as Nick jumped behind a nearby sofa, grabbing Judy in his arms as he leapt. Another loud popping sound filled the room as the wood behind where Nick and Judy had just been standing splintered and cracked, leaving a large hole in the ornately carved door.

"At least we know what that is now," Nick grimaced as he looked down at Judy. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm alright," she hissed. The throbbing in her foot had grown worse when she landed on it. Poking his head out from behind the couch, Nick saw Steven stomping towards the piece of furniture.

"We gotta move," Nick stated. Helping Judy to her feet, together they ran around the back of the couch, Nick pushing Judy ahead of him as he heard laughter behind him.

Another popping sound came and Nick felt a stab of pain rip across his upper arm, spinning him slightly with the impact. He tumbled to the ground, thankfully around the couch and pushed himself to his feet. Hearing curses and snarls behind him, the two raced towards the hysterical doe sobbing on the ground.

"Grab her Nick," Judy warned, though her eyes widened as she saw a sliver of red glistening over a cut in his suit. Grabbing a nearby potted plant which had been tipped over during the struggle, she shook the plant loose and threw the empty container at the end of the couch where they had just come from. The vase shattered against the wall, right next to Steven's face. Another round of curses spat forth from the muskrat as the three mammals raced behind the massive office desk that filled the space nearest the large bay windows.

"What's your name?" Nick soothed to the muskrat as Judy inspected his arm. "And how did you get here?"

"Martha...Martha Furzer," the doe sobbed. "He hung up on...our children and I had to see why."

"I think he's reloading," Nick whispered frantically to the two females as they all heard some rather odd sounds coming from beyond the desk. "Judy, I'll distract him while you get the missus out of here."

"You two just had to ruin my life, didn't you?!" they heard Steven bellowed from across the room. That same popping sound came once again, driving into the window and causing a spiderweb of cracks to appear in the glass. Another pop and the fractured glass burst, showering dangerous shards onto the floor. A whoosh of air shot outside, scattering papers all round the room in a cloud of white. "Why couldn't you have just stayed where you two belonged in society!"

"Yep. He's nuts," Nick whispered as they moved around the desk. Poking his head back around the way they came, Nick quickly dodged back behind it as he saw the angry muskrat level the weapon at him. "Is it a bad thing that I wish he was using Night Howlers right about now?"

"Now come on out and die like the pelt and inbred rabbit you are!" spat Furzer. "There's nowhere to run and nowhere you can hide."

"I have an idea Nick," Judy stated in a hushed tone. "It seems like his shots have an interval between them. If that weapon operates anything like our tranquilizers, he needs to build up the pressure to fire whatever it is he's shooting at us."

"Thanks for the information," Nick stated in a worried tone, "but I fail to see how a physics lesson is going to help us here."

"We just need to distract him long enough to where he can't charge the weapon."

"Brilliant," Nick gasped. "Now how are we going to do that?"

Both their eyes darted around near the desk until they fell upon a grouping of books scattered about the floor. Looking at each other, they both smiled for the first time since the entire madness in the office had begun.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," Steven cackled as he slowly maneuvered around the desk, far enough away where he'd be able to corner the trapped officers no matter the direction they went. He knew he had two rounds left in his gun, and if he made it to his desk, he could grab the last four he had made. He pressed the compressor button four times on the gun until it clicked, signalling the most lethal level he could achieve with the weapon.

_"Now!"_

Steven brought up his gun to fire at the edges of the desk, not realizing until it was too late that he should have been watching the top of it.

A red paw appeared over the top of the desk. In its grip was a large book, which now went sailing through the air towards the middle of the room. Steven snarled at the sight of something flying towards him, turned, and fired at the projectile.

The book blew apart as he shot it in its spine, pages flying everywhere. Growling in frustration he turned to see the fox and rabbit, along with his wife, running across the edge of the room.

"Now!" Nick yelled, as it was Judy's turn to fling a book towards the muskrat. She watched as the rodent leapt to the side, the book barely missing him as his paw clicked on the barrel of his gun.

"Now Nick!" Judy cried as Nick threw a second book at the rodent. This time, it impacted him dead center in his chest, sending him flying backwards as the three mammals raced across the room.

 _Almost there_...Nick thought as they neared the door. He turned back to yell at Judy to throw her final book, when his eyes widened in horror. Instead of being behind him, Judy was racing across the room as fast as her near crippled foot could carry her.

" _Judy, no!_ "

* * *

Judy's mind was focused as Nick yelled now for the second time. Her aim was true as it sailed towards the muskrat aiming at them, forcing him to the ground.

"Now Nick!" she shouted, watching as the rodent pulled himself up, hearing a clicking sound as he brought his gun up to face them. The fox's aim was true, and the book he was holding onto soared across the room, nailing Steven dead centre in the chest. The muskrat let out a cry of pain as he sailed backwards, the gun dropping from his grip, landing on the carpet near him.

Dropping the book in her paw, Judy turned directly at the downed mammal, instead of running for the door.

 _Time to end this..._ she thought as she saw Furzer rubbing his head and groaning.  _He won't hurt anyone else today_. She saw his paw reaching out for his gun as she ran at him. Just as she leapt, she saw his paw snatch the weapon and point it towards her.

Time seemed to slow for Nick, seeing every detail and hearing every sound. He heard the muffled popping sound as Judy completed her tackle of the muskrat. He saw the instant agony in her face, followed by the soft thud of her body as it bounced off the ground next to Furzer, coming to rest with her head and chest facing the carpet.

Nick came to a complete stop as he felt his world shatter.

"No…" he whispered, taking a tepid step towards her. "Judy."

The fox willed her to move. To breath...to do  _anything._ Finally finding his legs, he began moving towards her until he heard laughter to his side.

"About bloody time."

Nick's grim eyes turned to face the muskrat who had uttered the words. Steven's grin was far too broad as the muskrat picked up his gun. Kicking the downed rabbit, the mammal cackled with glee as he watched her body limply move from his assault before settling back onto the carpet. "Served her right for bedding a filthy pelt."

And it was _that_ moment when time stopped. He no longer could hear the shrill shriek behind him coming from Furzer's wife as she looked at Judy's body lying motionless on the carpet. His vision shrank until only the deranged lunatic before him was in his sights. He couldn't hear the primal growl ripping from his throat, all in exchange for his focus being solely directed at the despicable mammal across from him.

The mammal that had taken the life of his mate.

Steven seemed to realize what he had done as the fox advanced on him. Fear briefly expelled the insanity that had clouded his mind as the fox snarled, heightening the fierce urges inside of him to flee from the encroaching predator. He turned to run, to scamper away from the threat, when a russet paw caught his collar and flung him with startling force into his desk. Furzer coughed up blood as he slid down against the oak frame of his desk. His eyes fluttering open as he felt an enormous amount of pressure collecting around his neck.

He looked up just in time to see a fist connecting with his muzzle.

"You…" Nick snarled as his paw connected with Furzer's face. "...murdered…" Again his fist found its target, this time collecting a trace amount of the muskrat's blood after shattering his nose. "...my…" For a fourth time he smashed his fist into the face of the one mammal he now could safely say he hated. "...mate!"

He raised back his fist for another blow, ignoring the stinging pain racing down his arm from where he himself had been shot, when he felt a massive pair of paws pulling him away from the tiny mammal.

The fox faintly heard someone familiar shouting his name, but struggled against the large striped arm holding him back. Later, he would only faintly recall seeing Furzer now standing and stumbling away from the desk and towards his gun that had flown from his paws and landed near the window.

Though he would forever remember the sight of the muskrat grabbing at the weapon, only for a dart to hit him square in his neck. The rodent stumbled, the gun falling from his paw before he turned, tripped over his own feet as the tranquilizer took effect, and plummeted out of the shattered window.

"Nick!"

The fox struggled, the overpowering urge to chase his enemy still ebbing through his limbs. The voice called out to him urging him not to throw his body out the window after the muskrat, as if pursuing him would inflict further pain and suffering upon him.

Delgato's voice sounded behind him. "Nick! Snap out of it Nick!"

He struggled against the claws now digging into his side, the tears streaking down his face drawing dark lines across his cheeks.

He heard a low growl behind him."Nick, for the love of…"

"Judy!" Nick finally yelled as he freed himself from the clutches of the grasping paws. His body fell to the floor, supported by his good arm as he gasped in pain and weariness. His tunnel vision faded and his eyes darted towards where he knew his rabbit lay. He saw her now lying face up, her open eyes staring at the ceiling above while Fangmeyer's bloody paws began carefully pressing themselves against her chest in a repeating pattern.

Nick stumbled towards the wolf, making it about half the distance before his legs gave out beneath him.

"Fangmeyer…" he croaked, his voice broken like his spirit. "Please…"

The wolf paused in his chest compressions. The canine's paws making the now bloody rabbit beneath him seem to appear so small and fragile. He saw the look of pure fear and shock in the fox's eyes across from him.

"Nick, I…" For all his years on the force, Fangmeyer had seen a great many things. However, at the sight of the fox, a brother in blue, openly weeping before him, he was at a loss for words.

The wolf went back to his chest compressions on the rabbit, his bloody paws rising and falling, as the fox wept next to him.


	42. Lives Well Lived

 

As beautiful days go in Zootopia, this one ranked among some of the best of the year. The sun shone down upon the city, even giving Tundratown a rare day without snowfall, and in western Savanna Central, the weather was considered perfect. While the sun was beating down upon the crowd gathered in central Vole Gardens, it was still late enough in the year that it wasn't overly warm, and the pleasant breeze that blew had a few mammals bringing out their lightest of sweaters while most enjoyed the picturesque day.

 _How dare they._..thought Nick.  _How dare they enjoy this while she can't._

The fox did his best to ignore the blissfully warm day. His shoulder ached from carrying the casket for so long as the processional marched towards their final goal. In the middle of Harbor Grove cemetery stood a special large plot of land reserved for first responders, both active and retired, as a way for the city to honor them for their service. It was there that Nick was heading with the coffin he bore alongside several rabbits from the Hopps clan.

It felt oh so heavy in his paws. He bore through the pain though, even if it felt like the wound where Steven's shot had grazed his arm had reopened again. Judy wouldn't have complained...so neither would he.

Together he and the three rabbits marched forward. The fox recognized several faces in the crowd, though he kept his eyes forward when passing by the Hopps clan. Stu was already sobbing as he held a weeping Jessica in his arms, while Bonnie...

Bonnie simply stood there like a statue...she'd been that way since the horrific news of the attack, while news of the death had whipped through the burrow with the ferocity of a winter hurricane. Nick quickly averted his eyes lest a new line of painful tears would begin.

They did anyway.

He had failed the rabbit matriarch. He had failed to protect Judy Hopps and now the weight of one of his mistakes was resting in the palm of his paw as he marched forward with the other pallbearers, carrying the small, rabbit sized casket towards its final resting place.

 _We should have just arrested and held him at the luncheon._ The thought kept swirling through the vulpine's mind as the procession reached its destination. They set the coffin down upon the dais, next to a much larger one which contained the body of Reginald O'Pawblerson, the jaguar who had attempted to stop the madmammal before he was killed. Even though he had retired from the force years earlier, the news had caused Bogo, his last partner, to visibly stiffen when he had arrived at the crime scene. The cape buffalo quietly excused himself and according to other officers, had slunk into a nearby quiet office and hadn't come out for nearly an hour.

Bogo still stood next to the larger coffin of the two. Nick knew a mask when he saw one, and as Nick switched his gaze from straight ahead to his boss, he knew that is what covered Bogo's face at the moment. A thin wall of forced expressions to cover the emotions roiling just behind it.

For a fleeting moment, their eyes connected. Bogo gave Nick the slightest of nods, his facade cracking for a moment before re-establishing itself.

Turning away, Nick crossed the short distance to stand behind several other officers. With his ramrod straight posture, anyone from the front would have imagined him as the most stoic of the officers present.

But anyone looking from behind would see his limp tail dragging in the dirt and grass behind him, lifeless and cold like the bodies in the coffins ahead of him.

The rest of the funeral was just a blur for him as he simply couldn't bring himself to concentrate. His emotions were a whirling, churning, broiling pit of regrets and second-guesses, and he wouldn't stop cursing himself for his stupid mistakes. His mind thought over all that had happened during the last few months, and how she had been there beside him through it all. He desperately wished she could have been here at the end. A lone bugle sounded in the background while some words were said that Nick ignored. His only thoughts were on Judy.

His mind replayed the events of that terrible day just one week ago. He was once again watching Judy turn towards Steven, seeing her leaping at him, then only to fall limp upon the ground a moment later after she was shot in the chest at point blank range.

He was seeing Fangmeyer with his bloody paws, at first delicately pressing against her chest, only to grow frantic when she didn't respond to his compressions. Those crimson paws haunted his dreams, ripping him awake in a cold sweat whenever he finally managed to fall asleep.

A large paw fell upon his shoulder, causing the fox to flinch. Blinking away the fresh tears he was trying his best to hold in, Nick looked behind him to see the face of Delgato frowning down at him, a look of compassion evident despite the more sombre expression he wore for the funeral.

"Let's go, Nick."

Just as he was about to object, the tiger cut him off. "You were whining again. I know you're struggling without her, so let's get you home."

Nick trembled, his body quivering as a pang of guilt coursed through him. Looking back at the coffin, the fox tightened his fist.

"I'm staying for her."

He could hear Delgato sighing behind him as he regained his focus. He saluted as the bugler played taps, and didn't let it falter, even as his arm trembled. Nick stood at rapt attention as McHorn lit a new eternal flame next to the coffins, a beacon of remembrance for their lives.

 _I can do this..._ Nick kept repeating to himself throughout everything.

It wasn't until the coffins were lowered into the ground, hearing the first sob come from Bonnie, that he lost it himself.

_I...I need to go._

In one moment, Nick crumpled to the ground. Delgato barely caught him before he fell to the grass. The officers around and behind him made way for the tiger as he half helped, half dragged the fox to his feet. Several officers cleared a path for the fox and tiger as they made their way to the back of the crowd. Within a minute the fox was in Delgato's unmarked vehicle.

"I know better than to ask if you're okay, Wilde," Delgato grunted as he climbed into the car and slammed the door. "Though you should have said something."

"She…" Nick began, only to be silenced by a growl from Delgato.

"Enough of that crap, Wilde. You can only push yourself so much and you  _still_  aren't in any shape to be doing much of anything. It wasn't until the hospital threatened to stuff a tube down your throat that you even ate anything this week."

Nick fell silent at that remark, slumping further into his seat as he stared out the window. The crowds were just beginning to disperse, though he watched in sorrow as Bonnie, Stu, and Jessica, as well as a few other Hopps siblings who had come to Zootopia, went forward to stand by the coffins. Feeling a lump in his throat at the sight of Judy's sister slumping to her knees was again almost too much for him.

_They were so close…_

"That's it!" the tiger exclaimed. "I'm getting you out of here and somewhere actually good for you. Or at least someplace that you aren't an absolute wreck."

Revving the engine, Delgato pulled the car out of the cemetery, moving onto the roads for the thirty minute trip to Zootopia General.

The first few minutes went by in almost absolute, impenetrable silence, the only sounds being the low rumble of the engine or the clicking of Delgato's turn signal. Finally, sighing in frustration at the silent fox seated next to him, Delgato spoke. "So, have you thought about what Bogo said yet?"

More silence greeted the tiger.

"Wilde, you're going to need a new partner and Bogo needs to know who he can pair-"

"Nobody."

Low growls met the vulpine's words. "Nick, you're going to need a new partner whether you like it or not, or Bogo will be forced to put you on parking duty for-"

"Then I'll do parking duty," Nick said in a level, emotionless tone. "I won't work without her."

"Ah hell, Wilde," Delgato snarled in annoyance. "You're even more stubborn than Judy."

"Don't," Nick warned.

"Don't what?" Delgato challenged. "Don't even talk about her now? It's like you think sh-'"

"I said don't!" Nick barked, his hackles rising as he glared daggers at the tiger. His chest rose and fell heavily for several moments as Nick calmed, then rubbed his paws across his head, dragging them down his muzzle. He fidgeted in his seat, his tail flicking anxiously behind him. "Let's just hurry, okay?"

Delgato sighed as the fox slunk back into his seat, curling up with his tail around his legs. The rest of the trip was made in silence, the car pulling up to their destination with nary a word spoken between them. Though Nick's body language spoke volumes about the fox's thoughts.

He was hurting terribly, and it was painfully obvious to all around him.

Nick's thoughts were constantly upon Judy and how much she had affected him in the brief time he had known her. Her constant cheerfulness, her warm smile, her laugh…

_I hope I don't forget that sound._

Choking back tears, Nick felt himself growing more and more anxious as the words of the other occupant of the car began rolling through his mind.  _It's only been a week and you have all those videos of her and you together. You couldn't forget her voice. Or her smile. Just stop it Nick. Wallowing and panicking have never gotten you anywhere good before._

Even while trying to assuage his mind under the barrage of negative thoughts, and with the funeral in the back of his mind eating away at him, another horrid thought assaulted his already nerve-wracked mind.

"Drive faster," Nick whispered.

Delgato nodded in reply, pressing slightly harder on the gas pedal. As soon as the hospital appeared a few moments later, Nick's tail fidgeted behind him while his paw went to the handle of the door.

"Just drop me off at the entrance," Nick spoke in a slightly panicked voice.

"I can park the car, it will only take a few minutes-"

The glare Nick shot the tiger was enough for him to hold up one paw in surrender, keeping the other firmly on the wheel. "Fine," Delgato glowered, pulling the car up to the main entrance. Nick was already yanking the door handle before the car had even rolled to a stop, his buckle undone the moment the hospital came into view. Delgato fiddled with the door controls, the 'clicking' sound of them unlocking sounded several times in his ears as the fox huffed in frustration while he tugged uselessly on the handle.

"Nick, just stop pulling on it," Delgato shouted.

"I am!" the fox snapped back, sending another impassioned glare at the tiger. Just as the doors clicked again, the vulpine tried to open them at the same second, filling the car with yet another shouted curse in frustration.

"Just let me, ya dumb fox," the feline growled as he reached over and undid the door personally. Pushing it open, he managed a "You happy, bucko?" before Nick was out the door.

"Only Judy can call me a dumb fox," Nick muttered to himself, running towards the doors, slowing only enough so he wouldn't slam into the sliding doors before they were open enough for him to sneak between them. Crossing the lobby, he saw a family of rather overweight hippos plodding into the elevator.

 _Stairs it is..._ he sighed internally, curving his run straight past the reception desk. The nurses on duty rolled their eyes, seeing the fox's behavior several times over the past week as Nick careened towards the stairwell.

One of the zebra's at the desk sighed before looking over at the feline next to her.

"What is it Charlene?" the lioness asked.

The zebra cast one glance in the direction of the stairwell as a loud slamming sound announced the door being flung upon by the crazed fox. "I don't know, Nala. I just wish Roger would be in as much a hurry as that fox is to see his bunny when he comes home."

"You and me both," the feline chuckled with a sly twinkle in her eyes. "Maybe then you'd actually smile at the guests once in a while."

"Hey! _"_

The two bickered for several moments until Charlene elbowed the lioness and nodded towards the front door. Nala instantly blushed as she shrank into her seat, the zebra next to her grinning smugly as Delgato strolled past them towards the elevators.

"I heard he's single," the zebra crooned, causing the lioness to groan.

"Shut up."

The zebra laughed. "No, you shut up!"

"Ah, just shut up."

* * *

Nick breathed heavily as he slammed the door to Floor 15 open, grimacing at the dull ache in his arm.

 _"_ I hate hospitals…" he groaned for what was most likely the fiftieth time this week. Now only jogging, he made it past the floor's nurses station before reaching his destination. Officer Hiberton nodded at him as the fox slowed to a walk.

"Anything-"

"Nothing's changed, Officer Wilde," the bear stated solemnly. He sighed heavily, shuffling his feet as he stood guard outside the door. "Nurse came around about half an hour ago to check. You can go in-" The bear halted as the fox was already past him and into the room.

Nick finally let a breath of relief at the sight on the bed.

_"Judy…"_

The fox took a chair from a nearby desk and placed it next to the bed as he eyed the rabbit lying peacefully upon it, her chest rising and falling in tune with the rhythm of the heart monitor beside her bed.

 _His_ rabbit.

Reaching out, careful to avoid the tubes attached to her arms, the fox gently stroked the unconscious doe's ears.

"You've been out for a week now, Judy," Nick spoke softly, holding back his emotions. "Feel free to wake up anytime you know."

The steady beeping of medical machines around the room was the rabbit's reply. Sighing heavily, Nick scooted the chair forward again, before reaching out to clasp Judy's smaller paw in his own.

"The funeral was nice. Jessica was a wreck though," Nick commented morosely. "She kind of shut down after hearing that Jack had died at the same time you did, though I'm glad that you were able to be brought back out of the two of you."

Nick chuckled then hung his head in shame. "I'm sorry Carrots. I shouldn't have said that. The guy was a jerk, but a nice jerk, and your sister needs all the support she can get. He  _did_ basically save your life since he ate the salad meant for you. Guess that's why Bogo asked for him to be buried next to Reginald." Nick stopped to wipe at his eyes with his free paw.

"You still don't know how much Fangmeyer freaked me out when I saw him trying to bring you back with those bloody paws of his. I thought it was your blood until Delgato said it was Reginald's when Fangmeyer checked him before entering the room."

Nick scratched at the back of his neck. "The poor wolf is recovering though. I kind of...clocked him once he brought you back. I guess I thought he could've prevented you from getting shot if he had just run into the room first. He still feels terrible about all this and says that all your drinks at the 10-7 are on his tab if... _when_  you wake up."

Feeling himself trembling, Nick fell sullenly silent for several minutes until he could recompose himself. The doctors encouraged him that speaking to Judy might help her recover faster, so after demanding the time from Bogo, he had spent nearly every waking minute by Judy's side, telling the unconscious doe anything and everything he could think of; From his first beginning hustles, to the most embarrassing stories of himself that he could remember, hoping the humor might wake Judy faster.

They hadn't seemed to help so far, but he wasn't averse to talking more and trying everything. He was sure if it was him in the bed, and not Judy, she would be doing the same thing for him.

"You'd be happy to learn that the investigation is progressing well. I mean, Steven is dead for one thing, so that's the first bit of good news," Nick stated before chuckling. "Doctor Woods wasn't happy at having to examine a pancake though after he fell from the tenth story. Fell right in front of Rhinowitz, barely missed landing on the guy's horn. Can't say I wouldn't have minded if he did after what he did to you. He deserved it for hurting you."

Nick eyes flickered down to where the cast was barely visible from underneath the blanket. Shaking his head, he went back to speaking, hoping the feelings of anger towards the muskrat would pass.  _Most likely when you're awake again..._

"Besides that though," Nick began again, pushing those thoughts from his mind. "I'm absolutely one hundred percent positive you're going to be annoyed at not being able to help during this past week. I've been placed with Delgato and Fangmeyer until you come back. Don't keep a guy waiting..." The fox shot the bunny a glance that usually was reserved for parents toward their disobedient offspring.

Nick gingerly squeezed her paw tighter.

Aside from the shallow rise and fall of her chest, there was no movement in response.

"We've found Steven's journal. You should have read it, Fluff. It's worse than some of Dribs's deranged writings," Nick chuckled. "You remember that weasel, right? I mean, sure he was insane, but Furzer literally had drawings of him pushing foxes out of windows or running them over. I'd give his stick figures an 'A' for effort. Delgato also found some bags of the specialized species specific Night Howler toxin in the garbage can in the kitchen. The sous chef thought they were exotic spices." Nick let out a muffled snort. "Guess he bit off more than he could chew, eh Fluff?"

Nick let out a sigh, idly rubbing his thumb and forefinger over Judy's paw, hoping she could feel the gentle caress. He wiped at a single tear staining his fur before looking towards Judy with bleary eyes. "I'm glad you had that idea to wear your vest under your clothes. I...I don't want to know what could have happened if...if you hadn't." Tears began trickling down his cheeks in earnest "I don't know if I can keep doing this without you Judy…"

"Please... _please_  just wake up."

Nick bent forward slowly and wept into the sheets, continuing to hold Judy's paw as his tears slowly soaked the thin hospital blanket. Delgato, who had relieved Officer Hiberton, simply glanced inside the doorway for a moment before settling down to his task of guarding the rabbit officer's room, as well as the somber fox who might as well have set up a bed as he had barely moved from his place next to her the entire week.

Nick remained by Judy's side, focusing all his attention on her, as if his will alone would be enough to wake her. Every now and then a nurse would stop by, jot down some notes and then quickly exit, leaving the fox alone with his thoughts and his bunny. Occasionally his mind would play tricks on him as he would imagine feeling Judy's paw twitch in his own. At those moments, he would watch with bated breath to see if her eyelids would slowly flutter open, revealing her gorgeous amethyst eyes underneath.

But it never happened.

With the humming machines bleating a distinct, repeating message, and the false illusions beating him down, Nick finally felt his eyelids beginning to droop. His paw relaxed as he rested his muzzle upon the bed. His eyes flickered to Judy's face, a smile gracing his lips as his eyelids closed the rest of the way.

* * *

Nick's dreams were visions of joy. Judy was running through a park with him, laughing merrily as she dragged him by the paw to some unknown corner of the beautiful paradise they were in. The sun beat upon them as he laughed, joy flooding through every fiber of his being while they traipsed through the fields and meadows of the dream wonderland. Every few moments Judy would turn, sending him a smile that caused his own to widen from pure unadulterated joy.

After what felt like hours of running through fields, the bunny paused, seeming to ponder which direction to go.

"Where to, Slick?" Judy asked, turning around to face him with a bright and cheery smile.

Nick gave a coy smile back. "Anywhere you are, Carrots."

"Aww, aren't you the romantic?" Judy giggled stepping forward. Her smile faded slightly as a more concerned look came across her muzzle. He felt her paw pull away from his own as she clasped both paws in front of her. "But seriously, Nick, where do  _you_  want to go?"

The fox paused. Glancing around them, he finally noticed three trails leading off from where they stood, not counting the one they had taken to this junction. The one on the right had a large sign with a black outline of a fox's head crossed out. Shaking his head, he gazed at the path to their left. Spotting a bunny silhouette crossed out on that one, it left only one path to follow.

"I think you know which path I choose," he replied. Grabbing her clasped paws in his own, he placed a kiss upon her knuckle. "Wherever you go, I go. And right now, I only see one path we can go on together."

"Sappy fox," Judy chuckled. Nick scoffed right back.

"Heartless bunny," he said with a grin. "Now come on Carrots, let's see how many cute little carrots are down this path."

"Hey!" Judy half yelled, half laughed.

Nick's smug grin only widened as he held out his paws, "I didn't call you cute, even though you are," he began with a chuckle. "I was just describing the vegetable, not my bunny."

Judy couldn't help the grin that appeared on her face, replacing her frown and thumping foot. "Will you always be my dumb fox, Nick?"

Nick's heart warmed as he gripped her paw in his and began walking down the center path, the one with the picture of both a rabbit and a fox on the sign next to it. "Only if you'll always be my sly bunny."

"Aww, Nick…"

He grinned, Judy gazing up at him as they walked.

"Nick?"

"Yes, Carrots?"

"Nick?" Judy repeated, her smile slowly faltering.

Nick stared in amusement at the rabbit. "That's my name. What's your request?"

"Nick," Judy stated again, her voice growing weaker, but more forceful as she pushed his shoulder.

Nick took a step back, "Uh Carrots, you're starting to worry me."

"Nick!" She gasped, pushing his shoulder again.

"What?"

"NICK!"

The fox woke with a start, jumping backwards at the suddenness of coming back into reality. Unfortunately for him, he had placed the back of the chair in front of him. As he fell back, he had nothing to steady his fall and landed roughly on the tiled floor of the hospital room.

"Ow…"

Nick groaned, rubbing at his head while trying to wipe the sleep from his eyes.  _Maybe I'm still asleep..._ he groaned as he heard a very familiar voice coming from above him.

 _"Nick...are you okay_?"

Ears shot straight into the air as Nick was instantly awake. "Judy?"

Scrambling to his feet, he rose to see the bunny struggling to open her eyes fully to gaze back at him. Her paw trembled as it reached out for him. Nick was quick to grasp it, holding it in his russet tone paw as tears freely fell upon it."

"Oh how I've missed you!" Nick cried as he fell upon Judy's shoulder, a true smile finally upon his face for the first time that week.

"Ribs…" Judy groaned, pushing at the fox as the machines nearby began beeping louder and more frantically.

Nick moved back with a start. "Sorry…" he stated sheepishly, though as he wiped his nose, he couldn't help but grin. "I just…"

"Nice to see you too," Judy said, her words coming out slowly and with labored breaths. "My chest feels like it's being squeezed in a vice," she managed to splutter as she dropped her head on to the pillow behind her.

"Now you know what one of your bunny-hugs feels like," Nick chuckled, earning a well meaning glare from the bunny as she cracked a smile. The two smiled like kits at Christmas, content at holding each other's paw and staring into each other's eyes. Eyes that neither had seen in seven days...a stretch of time that felt like an eternity.

"So…" Judy croaked finally. "I'm guessing by the look of those flowers in the vases over there…" Judy nodded her head towards a table against the wall and opposite her bed, "that I've been out for a while?"

Nick nodded. "A full week."

The bunny's eyes widened. "Sour pickles and milk! We're going to have so much paperwork to go through."

"I see Officer Fluff's back on duty," Nick quipped, earning yet another well placed scowl.

Judy snickered. "You better be glad I can't move from this bed at the moment."

"Even if you could," Nick retorted, "I can't see you moving very far in your full chest cast. Though I think you won't be going to the beach anytime soon. Well...at least until your fur grows back."

"What?!"

Judy looked at Nick with wide eyes, then down at her chest. Peeling back the blanket, she could indeed see the mass of white bandages around her chest. What she did  _not_  see was any remaining fur below her neck as the area was entirely shaved clean. Not a single grey or white hair to be seen.

" _No…_ " Judy whined, dropping the blanket over top of her again. Ears drooping over her head, she used them to cover her eyes

Nick had to wait a few moments of holding his paw over his muzzle to keep from laughing. After his initial bout had faded, he let out a heavy sigh before going back to look at Judy.

"You know I missed you, right?" he said, more of a statement than a question.

Judy peaked out from behind her ears, her eyes showing a growing sadness within them.

"I'm sorry, Nick," she sullenly proclaimed. "I was stupid and didn't think of-"

Her words were cut off by a firm paw squeezing her own.

"Don't go blaming yourself, Judy," Nick said softly. "I've seen all your x-rays and besides the broken ribs, do you know what they found?"

Judy shook her head.

"They found that all the walking you did that day caused that minor injury in your foot to become a full blown fracture. You were lucky to even be able to stand, let alone run out the door. If anything I should be the one apologizing for forcing you to run like that."

" _Nick_ …"

Before Nick could speak further, he felt Judy's paw entwine itself around his tie, pulling him closer to her. Without needing to speak, he understood her message and leaned forward, pressing his muzzle against hers in a simple, yet amorous kiss. After several moments, Judy leaned away from the kiss, resting her head again on the pillow. "I've missed doing that…" she hummed.

"You missed it? You've been out for a week while I've been here waiting for my sleeping beauty to wake."

"Should have tried kissing her," Judy shot back with a sly smile and a wink. "Works in the movies."

"This isn't a movie," Nick reminded her. "Though if it were, I think I'd make a great hero. The perfect mammal for a leading role in a spy thriller. What name do you think would work? Island of Doctor Meow? Savage Seas?" He waggled his eyebrows a few times. " _Wilde Times?_ "

Judy let out a snort. "I think the damsel in distress of a cartoon would be more appropriate," she snickered. "You'd make a fairly stunning Megoata, while I, as Harecules, would rescue you."

Nick smirked. "You know I'd make that dress look  _stunning_."

Judy burst into laughter as Nick winked at her, though it quickly turned into groans of pain. "Laughter is not the best medicine right now, Nick," the bunny pleaded, a paw over her chest.

Smiling, Nick's free paw went to his pocket.  _Well then, I think I have the right medicine for you Judy._  Now, as he stared into Judy's eyes for the first time in a week, Nick felt his paw trembling at what he was about to do. Sure they had already marked each other, and for many couples that was nearly as good as a marriage certificate.

However...there was still one thing left to do, as a fox, before he felt they could well and truly become mates.

Nick got down upon one knee, his eyes never leaving Judy's as he pulled a box from his pocket. The rabbit's eyes widened as he flipped the lid open, revealing a dazzling gold ring, glistening proudly with a single carrot shaped diamond attached.

"I know it isn't a rabbit tradition to do rings, and we've kind of already made our engagement official with our marks," Nick began, chuckling nervously to himself while Judy joined in with giggles of her own. The bunny wiped at several tears forming in her eyes as Nick continued. "Though if any mammal deserves this, it's you Judy. You've lit up my world and I know I can never repay you for everything you've done for me, however…"

Nick gulped back his fears as he offered the ring towards Judy, his paw trembling slightly.

"Judy Laverne Hopps, will you…"

* * *

"The end."

The old fox leaned back into his chair, mentally snickering at the twitching eyes and exasperated looks of longing on the faces of his grandkits.

"That's it?" a girl in the back finally shouted. "You won't even tell us if they got married?"

An uproar of angry, albeit cute, voices began demanding the aged fox to finish the story. Hearing the kerfluffle causing an uproar, several adults came into the room and began collecting the children, telling them dinner was on the table and they needed to come eat.

At the mere mention of food, the kits began scampering off towards the dining hall, the end of the story completely forgotten. The old fox smiled. Stretching his arms, he gave himself a few seconds to gather the strength to push himself out of his chair.

"Oh, these old bones don't want to move like they used to," he groaned, bracing himself to leave the comfort of his chair. It was then he felt two arms wrap themselves around his neck, as well as a soft giggle from behind him, which stopped him in his tracks.

"You've always been moving like a grandpa," the soft feminine voice laughed. Nick brought his own paws up to clasp those around his neck, gently caressing the grey and white fur.

"That's not what you were saying when we started our family," the fox rumbled, laughing louder as he heard a slightly embarrassed, 'hmmph' from behind him.

"Still hustling our grandchildren, I see?"

"You know it!" the fox replied, staring off into the kitchen and dining room beyond, watching as several of their grandkits scampered about, pulling themselves up into chairs or banging their silverware on the table in a demanding chorus of shouts to eat.

The bunny behind him leaned forward and placed a kiss upon his cheek before circling around to sit next to him.

"I'm glad we moved back out here to start our family." Judy watched the last few of the grandkits leave the room, ushered out by their parents. Judy smiled at Ridley and Ella as the rabbit and fox picked up their own kits and walked towards the kitchen.

"I'm glad we're finally retired." Nick let out a long laugh. "Sure was fun being the Chief of Police, well, what with my extremely  _sexy_  boss and all." He sent a wink towards his wife. She responded by rolling her eyes while smiling at him. "But I for one am glad that we no longer have that spotlight on us each and every day. Solvers of the Night Howler case. First fox and rabbit couple. First rabbit and fox couple to have natural children together. First couple as Police Commissioner and Precinct One Chief…that was a storm until Bogo told the mayor to push it through..." Nick ticked them each off on his fingers before sighing. "Simply too much for this young fox."

"Sure, Slick," she replied. "Are you sure it doesn't have anything to do with spoiling our grandkits rotten or trying to confuse them about their famous grandparents?"

Judy giggled as Nick placed a paw over his heart alongside a wry smile. "Why madam, I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Please Nick, you may fool a few two year olds, but you won't be fooling these ears." Judy pointed up at her own and smiled. "Though I have to give you credit. Saying you were watching ' _Nick'_  talking himself up in the mirror?"

Nick puffed out his chest. "Wasn't a lie at all." His smile broadened. "Never had to mention it was me looking at myself in that mirror after all."

"And the part about hearing me talking with the other officers?" Judy asked, folding her arms across her chest while narrowing her eyes.

"Isn't hard to do when you're working the security room and Clawhauser had his walkie turned on."

The fox cackled with laughter as Judy rolled her eyes. "I always asked him to make sure it was off."

"Oh," Nick replied with a grin. "I  _know_  you did."

Sighing, Judy listened to the sounds coming from two rooms over. "Think they know?"

Nick nodded. "The older ones do. Can't fool a Wilde-Hopps after all. The little ones, eh...they just like a good story." Both older adults fell silent, enjoying holding each other's paws. "They'll figure it out by themselves," Nick added after a few moments of silence. "Don't want them getting big heads too early after all."

"You mean you don't want them taking after their grandpa?" Judy said with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

"Ouch, Fluff. Still abusing your fox after all these years. I might just have to find me a nicer bunny."

He felt a light slap hit his shoulder as Judy pushed herself out of his chair with a giggle. Though her fur had become a lighter grey with age, nearing silver, and while white now tinged more than just her muzzle, she was still a breathtaking sight to the fox. Watching Judy flick her tail at him, Nick couldn't help but smile at the sight, knowing she was doing it purposely to get such a rise out of him.

"Scratch that," Nick said with a smile as he pushed himself out of his seat. Stepping forward, he wrapped his arms around his wife and smiled wider. "I don't think I could find a better bunny than you."

The two held each other in their arms, enjoying the moment until Judy squeaked in alarm.

"Nick!" She yelled, glaring at the older fox as she reached behind her and brushed her tail. "Not around the grandkits."

Nick made a determined effort to look around him, even raising his paw to his eyes as he scanned the room. "Hmm, that's funny. I don't see any around here."

His scanning of the room caused him to miss the smirk appearing on Judy's face. "Oh really?" the rabbit replied coyly. Nick barely heard her before he offered a slight yelp of his own. He heard Judy's melodious laughter ringing in his ears as he grabbed his tail and gently held it, offering a frown to his wife.

Nick shook his head. "Sly bunny."

"It's called a hustle, sweetheart," Judy chimed back, as both broke their faux frowns and smirks and began laughing. As soon as the laughter died down, Judy grabbed his greying paw in her own. "Now come on dumb fox, we've got a lovely carrot lasagna waiting for us."

Nick harrumphed, but followed after his wife. "You know I only love one carrot."

Judy turned her head and smiled. "Do I know that? Yes...yes I do."

Smiling at Judy, Nick took her paw in his own, raised it to his lips and gave it a long, tender kiss. Laughing slightly at the blush running through Judy's fur, Nick gently squeezed her paw in his own.

"Well," he managed through his chuckles. "Let's go see how Grandma Judy's burnt carrot casserole tastes like today..."

"Oh hush you," Judy laughed, nudging him with his elbow. "It goes so well with Grandpa Nick's sweet...and  _salty_...ice tea."

"That was one time," Nick stated as they disappeared into the kitchen, their voices slowly growing quieter the further they walked away from the living room.. " _One time_  I mistook the sugar for salt."

"Twice dear."

Judy's giggles filled the air as well as Nick's grumbling.

"You know I love you, Judy," Nick said back softly. "You'll always be my sly bunny."

"And you, Mister Wilde," Judy replied, "will always be my dumb fox."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter. Thank you all for sticking with me on this story, especially with how I seemed to forget about updating it on this site in comparison with on FF.net. So thanks for sticking with me and I hope you've enjoyed this story as much as I have writing it. :)


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